Constitutional Court agrees to hear al-Bashir appeal
The Constitutional Court has agreed to hear an appeal by the state against a SCA ruling that the government acted contrary to the Constitution when it failed to detain Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in the country last year. The hearing has been set down for 22 November.
The Department of Justice and Correctional Services filed for leave to appeal. In its judgment‚ the SCA said government's conduct in failing to take steps to arrest and detain al-Bashir‚ for surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC)‚ was inconsistent with its obligations in terms of the Rome Statute as well as section 10 of the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act‚ and was unlawful.
Al-Bashir arrived in SA on 13 June last year to attend the African Union Summit‚ despite there being a warrant for his arrest issued by the ICC‚ which seeks to try him for alleged war crimes.
SA‚ as a signatory of the Rome Statute and having enacted local law adopting the statute‚ was bound to execute the warrant of arrest, notes Legalbrief. The Southern Africa Litigation Centre sought the execution of the ICC warrant. Despite a court order instructing the state to ensure it prevented al-Bashir from leaving the country‚ the Sudanese President was allowed to leave SA. The state argues the SCA ruling has grave consequences for SA's role in international diplomacy.
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