The International Criminal Court is asking South Africa to explain its failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in June, despite an international arrest warrant on genocide and war crimes charges.
In a court order issued on Monday, the Hague-based ICC's judges asked the government to submit by no later than October 5 their views on the events of Bashir's attendance at an African Union summit.
The order by the three-judge bench referred in particular to government's "failure to arrest and surrender" Bashir.
Bashir, who is wanted by the ICC for alleged genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region, jetted into South Africa in mid-June to attend the summit.
He flew out from the Waterkloof military base two days later unperturbed, even though South Africa as an ICC member was required to arrest him and a Pretotia High Court judge had barred his departure.
The government is arguing that because Bashir was attending an AU summit he had immunity from prosecution.
