South Africa's decision to leave International Criminal Court unconstitutional says High Court

South Africa's High Court has ruled the country's decision to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) is unconstitutional. Last October, South Africa notified the United Nations its decision to leave the court claiming its membership conflicted with diplomatic immunity laws.

It is not clear whether the government would appeal the court's ruling. The process of withdrawal lasts one year and, in the case of South Africa, would take place this October.

The decision to leave the court, accused of bias by some African countries, was opposed by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).

Following the ruling on 22 October, the party said on its Twitter page: "We have won in our application to have SA's withdrawal from the #ICC set aside."

South Africa had longed warned it would leave the ICC following widespread criticism for its refusal to arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the ICC for alleged crimes including genocide committed during the Darfur conflict, which began in 2003.

Under the Rome Statute, South Africa as an ICC member has an obligation to arrest anyone sought by the tribunal.

Bashir has always rejected the charges and refuses to stand trial as his country does not recognise the ICC's jurisdiction, which the head of state slammed as "a tool to terrorise countries that the West thinks are disobedient."

Earlier this year, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld a High Court ruling that the government should have arrested Bashir while he was in the country in June 2015. Earlier in October, Burundi became the first nation to announce its intention to leave the ICC.

Is the ICC biased towards Africa?

Some African leaders and analysts have claimed the ICC seems prone to prosecute African figures, while it ignores perpetrators of the same crimes in other parts of the world.

South Africa and Burundi announced their withdrawal in 2016, claiming, among other things, that the ICC was biased towards African nations.

Gambia, under the leadership of former leader Yahya Jammeh, also announced it would pull out from the organisation, arguing the court "ignores war crimes" committed by Western countries. But new leader Adama Barrow said he will revert the decision.

Kenya, which the ICC is currently investigating, said it was watching the withdrawals "with very keen interest."

Earlier this year, the African Union (AU) approved a strategy for a mass withdrawal from the ICC, signalling Africa's increasing frustration towards the perceived biased attitude of the court.

However, in an exclusive interview with IBTimes UK, the court rejected allegations of bias against African countries and denied its investigations focus exclusively on Africa. A spokesperson for the court said the prosecutor's office is conducting preliminary examinations on other continents, including Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Palestine and Ukraine.