Former President Rodrigo Duterte makes his first appearance before ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on March 14, 2025, in The Hague.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyers were denied access to private communications between the ICC’s Registry and medical experts assessing his capacity to face trial.
Pre-Trial Chamber I ruled on December 23, 2025, that the defense had not shown sufficient grounds for the urgent release of emails, letters, and phone records.
The medical evaluation was ordered after Duterte’s legal team requested an indefinite postponement of proceedings in August 2025, while prosecutors claimed he was exaggerating cognitive impairments to delay trial.
The Chamber, presided over by Judge Iulia Motoc, emphasized that the Registry serves as a neutral intermediary for relaying instructions and that the defense already has access to necessary materials.
Duterte’s lawyers had argued that the documents were important to verify how instructions were communicated to the experts and which medical files were reviewed during the assessment.
The court noted that the experts’ joint and individual reports, submitted on December 5, 2025, already reference the guidance and documents used, making further disclosure unnecessary.
The defense has contested the findings, pointing out alleged contradictions in the reports and asserting that the conclusions do not definitively determine Duterte’s fitness for trial.
Duterte remains in the ICC detention center in The Hague facing charges of crimes against humanity related to alleged extrajudicial killings during his term.