View all in Latest
View all in Local
View all in Politics
View all in Opinion
View all in Business
View all in Lifestyle
View all in Sport
View all in Video
View all in Cartoons
20°C / 22°C
  • Sat
  • 24°C
  • 13°C
  • Sun
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Mon
  • 25°C
  • 12°C
  • Tue
  • 22°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 26°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 27°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 21°C
  • 13°C
  • Sun
  • 19°C
  • 13°C
  • Mon
  • 25°C
  • 13°C
  • Tue
  • 22°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 20°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 20°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 26°C
  • 14°C
  • Sun
  • 29°C
  • 16°C
  • Mon
  • 26°C
  • 15°C
  • Tue
  • 23°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 27°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 29°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 27°C
  • 16°C
  • Sun
  • 29°C
  • 13°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 12°C
  • Tue
  • 26°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 27°C
  • 14°C
  • Thu
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 26°C
  • 20°C
  • Sun
  • 24°C
  • 17°C
  • Mon
  • 22°C
  • 16°C
  • Tue
  • 26°C
  • 18°C
  • Wed
  • 26°C
  • 20°C
  • Thu
  • 25°C
  • 20°C
  • Sat
  • 23°C
  • 15°C
  • Sun
  • 18°C
  • 13°C
  • Mon
  • 19°C
  • 13°C
  • Tue
  • 25°C
  • 13°C
  • Wed
  • 22°C
  • 17°C
  • Thu
  • 21°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 23°C
  • 10°C
  • Sun
  • 19°C
  • 10°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 8°C
  • Tue
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Wed
  • 20°C
  • 13°C
  • Thu
  • 23°C
  • 13°C
  • Sat
  • 21°C
  • 12°C
  • Sun
  • 16°C
  • 12°C
  • Mon
  • 24°C
  • 12°C
  • Tue
  • 25°C
  • 16°C
  • Wed
  • 20°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 20°C
  • 14°C
  • Sat
  • 27°C
  • 16°C
  • Sun
  • 30°C
  • 16°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 15°C
  • Tue
  • 25°C
  • 16°C
  • Wed
  • 28°C
  • 16°C
  • Thu
  • 30°C
  • 17°C
  • Sat
  • 32°C
  • 15°C
  • Sun
  • 27°C
  • 12°C
  • Mon
  • 29°C
  • 9°C
  • Tue
  • 33°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 25°C
  • 16°C
  • Thu
  • 29°C
  • 15°C
  • Sat
  • 25°C
  • 15°C
  • Sun
  • 33°C
  • 14°C
  • Mon
  • 19°C
  • 14°C
  • Tue
  • 23°C
  • 14°C
  • Wed
  • 28°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 30°C
  • 16°C
  • Sat
  • 23°C
  • 13°C
  • Sun
  • 17°C
  • 11°C
  • Mon
  • 20°C
  • 10°C
  • Tue
  • 29°C
  • 12°C
  • Wed
  • 22°C
  • 15°C
  • Thu
  • 22°C
  • 14°C
Go

Al-Bashir debacle: Judges dismiss government's application with costs

The judges denied govt's application for leave to appeal its ruling.

FILE. Plane with call sign Sudan 01 taking off from Waterkloof Air Force Base just before midday on 15 June 2015. Alet Pretorius/Beeld/Netwerk24.
FILE. Plane with call sign Sudan 01 taking off from Waterkloof Air Force Base just before midday on 15 June 2015. Alet Pretorius/Beeld/Netwerk24.
| 1550 days ago

PRETORIA - A full bench of three judges in the High Court in Pretoria has denied government's application for leave to appeal its ruling that the failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was unlawful and unconstitutional.

BREAKING #AlBashir application for leave to appeal has been dismissed with costs. BB

In June, the bench ruled that government was bound by commitments to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest al-Bashir who was visiting South Africa to attend the African Union Summit.

The Sudanese president is wanted by the ICC on several charges including genocide and crimes against humanity.

RULING

Judge Hans Fabricius reiterated that government had a legal duty to arrest the Sudanese president and hand him over to the ICC where he faces charges including genocide.

While Fabricius delivered the ruling, it is fully supported by Judge President Dunstan Mlambo and his deputy Judge Aubrey Ledwaba.

The bench reiterated that al-Bashir enjoyed no immunity from arrest as a serving head of state.

"We are not of that opinion, and for the reasons stated in our judgement, President al-Bashir enjoyed no immunity from arrest or from prosecution on the customary international law as a serving head of state," Fabricius said.

He adds when the Rome Statute was domesticated, its provisions trumped those of the Immunities Act, which government believed exempted al-Bashir.

He says leave to appeal may only be granted if the court believes there is a reasonable prospect of success.

"This statute shall apply to all persons without any distinctions based on official capacity."

The justice department says it will study the judgment before commenting on its merits.

The court further found that the matter is now purely academic because al-Bashir has already left and any appeal would have no practical effect.

While the Southern Africa Litigation Centre has welcomed the judgment, the Justice Department says it will study it to determine whether there is scope to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal directly.

Timeline

More in Local

Comments

EWN welcomes all comments that are constructive, contribute to discussions in a meaningful manner and take stories forward.

However, we will NOT condone the following:

- Racism (including offensive comments based on ethnicity and nationality)
- Sexism
- Homophobia
- Religious intolerance
- Cyber bullying
- Hate speech
- Derogatory language
- Comments inciting violence.

We ask that your comments remain relevant to the articles they appear on and do not include general banter or conversation as this dilutes the effectiveness of the comments section.

We strive to make the EWN community a safe and welcoming space for all.

EWN reserves the right to: 1) remove any comments that do not follow the above guidelines; and, 2) ban users who repeatedly infringe the rules.

Should you find any comments upsetting or offensive you can also flag them and we will assess it against our guidelines.

EWN is constantly reviewing its comments policy in order to create an environment conducive to constructive conversations.

comments powered by Disqus
COPYRIGHT 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | PAIA