People must have their say in ICC withdrawal, not just government

There are times when we have to question whether supposedly influential sections of the government, seemingly at the spur of the moment, have ever taken the time to study the South African constitution.

This is the inference which must be read into the high court ruling handed down by Deputy Judge President Phineas Mojapelo in Pretoria, which ordered President Jacob Zuma and the ministers of justice and international relations to rescind the notice of withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as unconstitutional and invalid.

“It’s expected that the executive go back to parliament.

“We have rights, we have obligations, and we have parliament,” Judge Mojapelo said, adding that decisions executed by the executive must be “on the basis of the expressed authority of the constitution”.

The decision last year to withdraw from the ICC – greeted with shock from some quarters – was made on the basis that Cabinet had the authority to do so, but Mojapelo said if the authority was not expressed in the constitution, it must go to parliament.

Simply put, the state president selects the cabinet; the collective will of the people elect the parliamentarians.

And in matters as far-reaching as withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the people must have their say.

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