The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein immediately reserved judgement after Zuma’s lawyers made the concession.
Kemp J Kemp for Zuma said his client wanted the opportunity to make fresh representations to the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).
This would mean that current NDPP head Shaun Abrahams could then make a new decision on whether the trial should go ahead.
Shortly before the 2009 polls, then acting NPA boss, Mokotedi Mpshe, withdrew 783 corruption charges linked to the multi-million rand 1999 arms deal.
Since then, the DA has challenged the matter in court. In May last year, the North Gauteng High Court ordered that Zuma face all the charges.
Zuma then took the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Legal representatives for the NPA and Zuma were at pains as they tried to persuade the court to allow the appeal.
The matter was wrapped up by lunchtime but not before the NPA’s legal counsel conceded that Mpshe had “used the wrong power” to withdraw charges against Zuma.
The NPA said it accepted that Mpshe could not rely upon section 179 of the Constitution, as he had declared, as this section did not allow the NPA to review its own decisions.
Justice Eric Leach questioned why Zuma came to the court to apply for application for leave to appeal only to concede that the decision to withdraw the charges was irrational.
Chairman of the DA’s federal executive, James Selfe, said: “This opens the way for Jacob Zuma, finally, to have the day in court that he has been asking for, for the last 15 years. Like any other ordinary citizen, he must face up to the mountain of charges against him.”
ANA