A high court in Pretoria has ordered the South African government to prevent Sudan's President Omar al Bashir from leaving the country until it rules on Monday on whether he should be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face trial for war crimes and genocide, according to South African and international media reports.

President Bashir attended the African Union summit in Johannesburg on Sunday at the invitation of the South African government. The ICC says it informed South Africa prior to the summit that it must arrest Bashir and surrender him to the Court, which issued an arrest warrant against him in 2009. 

In an urgent court hearing at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Sunday after Bashir's arrival in the country, the Southern African Litgation Centre (SALC), a human rights law group, asked the court to order the South African government to arrest Bashir and hand him to the ICC.

Judge Hans Fabricius has not yet ruled on the application of the human rights group; he adjourned hearings on the matter until Monday in order to give the South African government time to respond to the petition.

In the interim, he issud an order that Bashir not leave the country. According othe South African news outlet News24, Fabricius ordered that the Home Affairs Department ensure that all points of entry and exit be informed that Bashir is not allowed to leave until he makes his ruling.

“An interim order is granted... to prevent President Omar Al Bashir from leaving the country until an order is made in this Court,” reads the judicial order issued on Sunday by the Pretoria High Court.

In a hearing on Sunday afternoon, William Mokhari, a lawyer for the South African government, requested that the court postpone its decision on the arrest warrant until Monday. The judge granted the adjournment and the South African justice department says that it is preparing for expected arguments in the Pretoria court on Monday.

Mokhari said the South African government would provide to the court documentation regarding cabinet decisions about Bashir's visit, but it needed to work overnight to prepare its arguments.

He also assured the court that the Sudanese president would not leave the country in the meantime. "There is no prejudice or risk of any sort at this stage... that President al-Bashir would be on his way back to Sudan."

News24 also reported that the justice department spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said South Africa would take reasonable steps to ensure that authorities at all points of entry and exit were told of the court order.

The International Criminal Court has announced that member states are required to assist the court to execute the ICC arrest warrant against Bashir. South Africa is a member state of the ICC. Speaking on South Africa's ANN7 television station, Advocate Sivu Magungu said that the ICC's Rome Statute “is law in South Africa.”

“This is not just a civil matter, it is a criminal matter,” he said about the case.

The African Union summit is scheduled to continue on Monday. There were conflicting reports on Sunday night about whether Bashir has already left South Africa in violation of the court order or not.