The team representing former President Rodrigo Duterte has formally withdrawn its appeal questioning the appointment of lawyers for victims in his International Criminal Court case.
The notice, dated March 16, was filed with ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I and signed by Duterte’s counsel, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman.
“The present notification is without prejudice to any further recourse available to the defense in order to raise the issue of what it perceives to be an impediment to representation on the part of the Common Legal Representatives for Victims,” the filing read.
Earlier, the defense requested the disqualification of Filipino lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres, arguing that their participation could compromise fair representation of the victims.
The chamber rejected the request, noting that no evidence of conflict of interest was shown by the defense.
After the ruling, Duterte’s team initially sought permission to appeal the decision but decided to withdraw the motion, leaving the lawyers in place for now.
The case involves murder and frustrated murder charges linked to killings during Duterte’s tenure as mayor of Davao City and later as President of the Philippines.
The court held a confirmation of charges hearing from February 23 to 27. It will next rule whether to confirm the charges, order a trial, suspend proceedings, or request additional investigation.
