Johannesburg – On Wednesday 16 September 2015, the North Gauteng High Court will deliver its judgment as to whether to grant the State leave to appeal in the matter pertaining to President Al Bashir.
What: Whether leave to appeal will be granted in the Bashir Case.
Where: North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
When: 16 September 2015 at 10 am.
SALC sought the implementation of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al Bashir who arrived in South Africa for the African Union (AU) summit that took place in Johannesburg 7-15 June 2015. As a signatory to the Rome Statute and having domesticated the Statute, South Africa is obligated to arrest President Omar al Bashir if he is found on South African territory.
After hearing of his arrival in South Africa and the fact that he was not immediately arrested, SALC approached the North Gauteng High Court seeking the implementation of the ICC arrest warrant. The Court issued an interim order on 14 June 2015 preventing Omar al Bashir from leaving the country pending the finalisation of the matter which was set down for hearing on 15 June 2015.
The Court reconvened on 15 June 2015 and after hearing submissions from all the parties, it ordered that President Omar al Bashir be arrested and detained for subsequent transfer to The Hague. After handing down this order, the Court was informed by the state respondents that President Omar al Bashir had already left the Republic in direct contravention of the interim court order issued on 14 June 2015.
The Court ruled that the State’s conduct was unconstitutional and the state appealed this ruling on 14 August 2015. The Court will hand down its judgment regarding leave to appeal on 16 September.
For more information:
Angela Mudukuti, International Criminal Justice Lawyer, SALC; angelam@salc.org.za; +27 10 596 8538
For background on the case:
