ICC junks Duterte camp’s appeal to exclude 2 judges

National

THE International Criminal Court (ICC) has denied the appeal of the defense team of former president Rodrigo Duterte that sought to remove two judges from ruling on the jurisdiction issue of his case,

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, composed of Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc and Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera, issued a four-page decision on May 6 rejecting the request, which had been filed five days earlier.

The defense argued that Judges Alapini-Gansou and Flores Liera should be excused from the case due to “the possibility of perceived bias,” citing their involvement in earlier rulings concerning the same situation in the Philippines.

However, the court emphasized that only the judge in question can request to be excused from a case.

“The Chamber recalls that, pursuant to article 41 of the Rome Statute and rules 34 and 35 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, a judge’s excusal from the exercise of a function may only be sought by the concerned judge directly before the Presidency,” the decision stated.

“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,’” it added.

The ICC Prosecutor’s office, led by Karim Khan, opposed the appeal on May 5 and had previously submitted 139 pieces of evidence, including documents, videos, and witness testimonies, ahead of the upcoming hearing.

Duterte remains in ICC custody in The Hague following his arrest in March. He is facing charges for alleged crimes against humanity related to alleged extrajudicial killings during his anti-drug campaign.

The confirmation of charges hearing is scheduled for September 23.

Duterte’s legal team also continues to dispute the court’s jurisdiction, pointing to the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which took effect in March 2019 — prior to the court’s decision to authorize an investigation in 2021.( John Ryan Ledesma, CTU-TC Intern)