South African court rules ICC withdrawal unconstitutional
JOHANNESBURG — A South African court ruled Wednesday that the government’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court without parliament’s approval was unconstitutional. The country had been set to become the first to leave the tribunal that prosecutes the world’s worst atrocities.
A high court judge instructed the government to revoke its notice of withdrawal from the court based in The Hague, Netherlands.
South Africa’s main opposition party had gone to court, saying the government’s notice was illegal because parliament was not consulted. “South Africa does not want to be lumped together with pariah states who have no respect for human rights,” the Democratic Alliance said in a statement Wednesday.
“What is so pressing for the national executive about the withdrawal … which cannot wait for our legislative processes to take their course?” the court’s ruling said. “Government respondents have not provided any explanation for this seemingly urgent need to withdraw from the Rome Statute” that created the tribunal.