Sudan's announcement that it plans to hand ousted long-serving President Omar al-Bashir over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) was dramatic and surprising, but it also takes the country into uncharted waters, writes Sudan expert Alex de Waal. The decision to get the ICC involved was welcomed by the majority of Sudanese who long for justice. After all, one of the central demands of the protesters who helped bring an end to President Bashir's 30-year dictatorship was that he should be accountable for his alleged crimes. It should also be seen, alongside other diplomatic moves, as an attempt by Sudan to normalise relations with the West and ditch its pariah nation status. But the process will be fraught with difficulties and the extent and timing of bringing past leaders to account is a matter of delicate political judgement. It also depends on the readiness of the ICC itself. The priority of the government, an uneasy cohabitation of civilians and generals, is to keep the fragile transition to democracy on track, and there is concern that army commanders could be antagonised by getting the ICC involved. Bashir is already serving a two-year sentence for corruption but he is wanted by the international court for crimes relating to mass atrocities in the country's Darfur region from 2003 to 2008. He is also under investigation for violating the democratic constitution by mounting a military coup in 1989. Shortly after his overthrow in April last year, Bashir was arrested and taken to the colonial-era Kober prison, which is where he sent hundreds of parliamentarians, trade unionists, journalists and other opposition figures over the years. But whether Bashir will be sent to the court in The Hague, or if he will be tried in a judicial process that may have ICC involvement in Sudan itself is still not clear. Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the sovereign council, which has replaced the presidency for now, told rights group Human Rights Watch that "no-one is above the law". "People will be brought to justice, be it in Sudan or outside Sudan, with the help of the ICC," he is quoted as saying. "We will cooperate fully with the ICC." There is also still a lot to be sorted out on the part of the ICC.