A South African court on Tuesday ruled that the government "acted unlawfully" by allowing President Omar al-Bashir to leave the country during a summit last year despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.

The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein dismissed an appeal from the government, saying "the decision by the South African government not to arrest al-Bashir was inconsistent with South African law."

The South African Litigation Centre (SALC) earlier filed a lawsuit against the government, accusing it of violating the constitution by allowing al-Bashir to leave the country.

The SALC said that under the ICC arrest warrant against al-Bashir, South Africa, a signatory to the Rome Statute which created the ICC, should arrest al-Bashir when he was attending an African Union summit in Johannesburg in June last year.

The ICC accuses al-Bashir of alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Endit

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