Johannesburg – The executive is undermining the rule of law and encouraging South Africans to ignore court decisions by the way it handled the Omar al-Bashir matter, the SA Law Deans Association said on Tuesday.
“Such conduct encourages citizens similarly to ignore the decisions of the courts, the Constitution and the laws of the country and may set South Africa on the road to tyranny,” acting president Managay Reddi said in a statement.
The association is concerned that the ministers of justice and constitutional development, police and international relations ignored the High Court in Pretoria’s order to have Sudanese President al-Bashir arrested while he was in the country.
“In terms of the Constitution the decisions of the courts should be respected and implemented by [members of] the executive who take an oath to uphold the Constitution,” it said.
On Monday the government announced it would appeal the high court ruling, handed down on June 15, that it had to detain al-Bashir while he was still in South Africa for a two-day African Union summit and that its failure to do so was unconstitutional.
Al-Bashir left from Air Force Base Waterkloof on the morning the high court handed down its order for the government to arrest him.
He is wanted by the International Criminal Court to stand trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Because South Africa is a signatory to the ICC’s Rome Statute, it had a duty to arrest him and hand him over to the court.