The State’s appeal of the June 2015 high court order to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is expected to be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein on Friday.
Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Michael Masutha and 11 others want the SCA to overturn a ruling by the High Court in Pretoria that the government’s failure to arrest him was inconsistent with its constitutional duties.
The SA Litigation Centre (SALC) wants the SCA to dismiss the application with costs.
When Al-Bashir entered South Africa last June for an African Union summit, the SALC approached the high court for an order that the government enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for him.
South Africa is a signatory to the ICC’s Rome Statute, which sets out the crimes falling within the ICC’s jurisdiction, and the procedures and the mechanisms for States to co-operate with the court.
The ICC had two outstanding warrants for Al-Bashir, issued in 2009 and 2010. It wanted him to stand trial on allegations of crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes committed in Sudan’s western province of Darfur.
On Monday, June 15, the high court ordered the government to arrest Al-Bashir and said its failure to do so was unconstitutional. Despite this, Bashir was allowed to leave the country.
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