The Republic of South Africa plans to change the law to have the right to decide whether to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). This is reported by the BBC, referring to the words of the Deputy Minister of State Enterprises of South Africa Obed Bapela.

Bapela's remarks come amid intense debate over whether South Africa will stick to commitments to arrest the Kremlin chief if he attends a BRICS summit in August, as the country accepted the Rome Statute.. Russia has not yet announced whether Putin plans a trip to South Africa.

“In June we will submit the law to the Parliament. With this law, South Africa will give itself the right to decide who to arrest and who not,” Bapela said..

Under current law, South Africa is obliged to arrest Putin if he crosses its border.. But the country has refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, insisting it wants to remain "

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In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin accusing him of war crimes, though Moscow denies the allegations..

South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has filed a lawsuit to force authorities to arrest Putin if he arrives in the country in August..

Bapela said that South Africa also wrote a letter to the ICC. This applies to Article 98 of the Rome Statute. While Article 27 notes that no one is immune from ICC prosecution, Article 98 seems to provide that the ICC cannot ask South Africa to arrest a Russian leader unless Russia agrees to waive Putin's immunity from prosecution..

Bapela also criticized the ICC for "

“We never thought that the ICC we have today would be the way it is.. They never blamed Tony Blair, they never blamed [George] Bush for killing the people of Iraq,” he said, referring to former British and US leaders and the 2003 invasion of Iraq..

Bapela also pointed to past examples of backsliding on international justice, such as the UK's decision not to extradite General Augusto Pinochet in 1998.. The former Chilean dictator was arrested in London at the request of a Spanish judge who wanted to put him on trial for violating human rights during his 17-year rule, but the British government released him after 16 months on the advice of medical experts who said he could not stand trial.. Pinochet died at home in 2006.

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Earlier it was reported that South Africa would grant diplomatic immunity to participants in two meetings of BRICS officials, calling such a practice routine..

The immunity extends to a meeting of foreign ministers from the bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.. They will gather in Cape Town on June 1-2. The immunity also applies to the summit of BRICS leaders, scheduled for August 22-24.. However, such immunity does not revoke a warrant issued by any international court against any participant in the conference..

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The International Criminal Court's warrant for Putin's arrest, not in words but in practice, perpetuates Russia's powerful diplomatic isolation and deprives its leader of the freedom to move around the world.. After all, 123 ICC member states, according to the Rome Statute, in connection with this warrant, must arrest the President of the Russian Federation and transfer him to international justice.. But what happens if some states violate their obligations? What consequences await them? Erik Kucherenko figured this out in the article "