South Africa has officially revoked its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court‚ according to a document issued by the United Nations on Tuesday.
The document indicates that on February 22 the Gauteng High Court's ruled that Parliament has to approve the withdrawal.
“In order to adhere to the said judgement‚ I hereby revoke the Instrument of Withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court with immediate effect‚” the document quoted the notice issued by South Africa.
Justice Minister Michael Masutha is set to appear in parliament on Wednesday to discuss the high court ruling that found that the withdrawal was unconstitutional and invalid.
- Court declares SA's withdrawal from International Criminal Court unconstitutional and invalidThe South African government has again found itself with egg on its face after a Full Bench of the Pretoria High Court found its notice of withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court procedurally invalid and unconstitutional on Wednesday.
In February the court ordered President Jacob Zuma‚ International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and Masutha to revoke the notice of withdrawal.
The Democratic Alliance approached the court last year to challenge the government’s decision to withdraw from the ICC by notifying the UN of its intention to revoke its ratification of the Rome Statute‚ which established the ICC.
On October 21 last year‚ Masutha announced that South Africa had initiated the process of withdrawing from the ICC.
The decision followed several court judgments that the state violated the law by not arresting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir‚ who has been indicted by the ICC‚ during his visit to South Africa in June 2015.
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