The International Criminal Court (ICC) has affirmed its jurisdiction over the crimes against humanity case against former president Rodrigo Duterte in connection with his administration’s war on drugs.
In a ruling dated October 23, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I Judges Iulia Antoanella Motoc, Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, and María del Socorro Flores Liera rejected the defense’s claim that the ICC lost jurisdiction after the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute took effect in 2019.
“The jurisdictional regime set out in Part 2 of the Statute continues to apply to this case as if the Philippines were still a Party to the Statute, so as to ensure that, pursuant to article 127(2) of the Statute, the withdrawal of the Philippines from the Statute ‘shall not […] prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective,’” the ruling stated.
The judges explained that the Rome Statute allows the ICC to continue investigations into crimes committed while a state was still a member, even after withdrawal. They added that the preliminary examination opened in February 2018—before the Philippines officially withdrew—is sufficient basis for the case to proceed.
They also clarified that the term “any matter under consideration” includes preliminary examinations, countering Duterte’s camp’s argument that such a phase is informal and non-justiciable.
The decision, however, did not rule on Duterte’s camp’s motion seeking to halt the proceedings on the grounds of the former president’s alleged unfitness to stand trial.