South Africa: Withdrawal From the ICC - Curious and Questionable

opinion

On 19 October 2016 the South African government submitted its Instrument of Withdrawal to the United Nations Secretary General, stating that it had "the honor to notify that the government of the Republic of South Africa has decided to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court". This is the latest legally questionable and deplorable instalment in what seems to be a string of legally questionable actions taken by the state since the unfortunate arrival of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in June 2015. Procedurally and substantively, serious concerns have been raised about the government's conduct in this ongoing and bitter South Africa-ICC saga. By ANGELA MUDUKUTI.

South Africa, post 1994, was understood to be a nation that would prioritise human rights and justice. The nation signed and ratified the Rome Statute and took its commitment one step further by domesticating it, making it an integral part of the domestic legislative framework. The domestic legislation, the Implementation Act, has been an integral part of South African law since 2002 and all was well until the arrival of Bashir. This was 'Part One' of the saga.

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