| Updated Wed, March 8th 2017 at 08:10 GMT +3The International Criminal Court headquarters, Netherlands (PHOTO: FILE)PRETORIA: South Africa on Tuesday formally revoked its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court after its High Court blocked the government's bid to pull out of the Hague-based war crimes tribunal. South Africa notified U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that because of the High Court decision, "the Instrument of Withdrawal was found to be unconstitutional and invalid," according to a document posted on the U.N. treaties website. Pretoria had initially notified the United Nations of its intent to withdraw in October, starting a year-long divorce period that would have made South Africa the first country to quit the court in October this year. ALSO READ: South Africa should stop xenophobiaThe ICC, which was launched in July 2002 and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Three African states - South Africa, Gambia and Burundi - last year signaled their intention to quit the ICC.

Source: Standard Digital March 08, 2017 05:03 UTC