S/Africa requests ICC for more time to respond in al-Bashir case

South Africa has asked the worldwide Criminal Court for an extension to respond to a request surrounding the events of Sudan President Omar Al Bashir’s attendance of the African Union summit in August and their subsequent failure to arrest and surrender him.

The North Gauteng High Court has already said that the domestication of the Rome Statute into South African domestic law over-rides any immunity that al-Bashir could claim to have.

An ICC warrant has been issued for his arrest for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

As an ICC signatory, South Africa is obliged to implement warrants from the court.

The ICC calls on all its member nations to fulfill their obligations to the court and honor their commitments which means arresting and handing over Al Bachir to the court to stand trial. “Well our position, obviously, is that South Africa had a duty to arrest President Omar al-Bashir when he was here and that their failure to comply with that duty has been ruled unconstitutional and invalid, and we support that judgment”.

“South Africa was unfortunately not afforded the opportunity to present legal arguments on this application, and hence it is of the view that the principles of justice were not adhered to”.

It also says South Africa will now approach the Secretariat of the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute to seek clarity about this type of situation.

South Africa plans to press for the issue of immunity for serving heads of states of countries like Sudan, which are not party to the Rome Statute, to be discussed at a meeting of the ICC’s political body to be held at The Hague next month.

South Africa was warned by the ICC of the consequences of allowing al-Bashir into the country even before he attended the summit in June.

But global criminal justice lawyer Angela Mudukuti of the Southern African Litigation Center said South Africa set a poor example. Al Bashir has so far avoided arrest for years by skipping visits where he might face ICC arrest and prosecution.