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Nuke treaty with Russia has nothing to do with domestic courts‚ argues state lawyer

Gavel
Gavel

Court is the wrong place to argue about the government’s alleged R1-trillion nuclear deal with Russia‚ government lawyers argued on Thursday.

“An international treaty shouldn’t be adjudicated by a domestic court‚” Marius Oosthuizen told Judge Lee Bozalek in the High Court in Cape Town. “The court will see this is nothing but two sovereign states going into an agreement.”

Earthlife Africa and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute have gone to court in an attempt to have the agreement between South Africa and Russia declared unconstitutional because it was not approved by parliament.

Thursday was the second day of arguments‚ which are due to conclude on Friday

Oosthuizen‚ appearing on behalf of President Jacob Zuma‚ Speaker Baleka Mbete‚ the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa and Eskom‚ said: “As far as foreign relations are concerned‚ the proper route is political accountability.

“The Russian treaty is in any event not a procurement contract. (It) refers to a strategic partnership which does not mean a commercial partnership but a diplomatic partnership.”

He referred to other agreements between South Africa and countries such as France and China. “What makes the Russian agreement so special? Nuclear technology is something you cannot get off of the shelves of the supermarket.”

Environmental lawyer Adrian Pole‚ representing Earthlife and the SAFCEI‚ said the court’s role was to decide who should exercise certain constitutional powers. Every exercise of executive power was open to judicial scrutiny.

“The public should know what agreements our government is getting into. Parliament and its representatives must also know about the details of this agreement.”

 

TMG Digital

 

 

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