The International Criminal Court (ICC) has dismissed an appeal by Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyers to excuse two judges from ruling on the tribunal’s jurisdiction over his case.
The appeal was rejected by the Pre-Trial Chamber I, consisting of Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera on May 6.
“As stated by the Presidency, ‘no preemptive request may be made by the parties that a judge request his or her excusal’ and such course of action ‘lacks procedural propriety,’” the decision stated.
Duterte’s camp sought judges Gansou and Liera’s excusal from adjudicating on the jurisdiction issue on May 1.
On the same day, the chamber noted that the former president’s lawyers challenged the jurisdiction of the tribunal over the Philippines.
The Duterte camp cited “the possibility of perceived bias”, given the judges’ prior ruling on “substantially the same issue.”
They also argued that a state must be a state party at the time of the exercise of jurisdiction and the Pre-trial Chamber authorized its investigation on September 15, 2021, two years after the country withdrew from the ICC.
The Philippines' withdrawal from the ICC Rome Statute took effect on March 17, 2019 after submitting a notice the previous year.
ICC investigated the human rights violations of Duterte that were committed during November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 – when the country was still a state party.
Article 127 of the Rome Statute states that a state's withdrawal does not affect the jurisdiction of the Court over crimes committed while the state was a party.
The former president is currently detained at The Hague, Netherlands after his arrest in Manila on March 11 for human rights violation following his ‘war on drugs’ that reportedly killed 6,000 while human rights groups recorded 30,000.
The next hearing is scheduled for September 23, where charges against Duterte will be confirmed.
Despite the arrest, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) pointed out that the Duterte patriarch is still eligible to run for Mayor of Davao City in the upcoming May 12 midterm elections.
“As far as the Comelec is concerned he (Duterte) remains, as of now, a candidate. His name remains in the ballot and can be voted upon by our countrymen [in Davao City],” Comelec Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said on March 12.
The former president is currently running for the top elective position of Davao City, with his son – incumbent Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, as his running mate.
