Geline Salac

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands.

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Bea Cuadra

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17652359340711765235935099.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">The International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands.</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>The office of the prosecutor formally requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) uphold its jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity committed during the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, despite the nation’s withdrawal from the court.</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1998084208267502076&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-12-08T23%3A06%3A15.936263%3Adbc55d4d-4db4-41a0-941b-e8e749604b2d%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=56e13e7affab747ba0a544b18f2a20ce1a0078b0&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:1060px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1998084208267502076"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><p>In a 22-page brief filed on December 8, the Office of the Prosecutor argued that the court’s mandate to investigate the &quot;murder of numerous civilians&quot; remains intact because legal proceedings were already underway before the Philippines officially left the global body.</p><p>The filing serves as a direct rebuttal to Mr. Duterte’s legal team, which has moved to dismiss the case on jurisdictional grounds.</p><div><strong>THE &#x27;LEX SPECIALIS&#x27; ARGUMENT</strong></div><p>The court’s founding treaty is Article 127 of the Rome Statute.</p><p>Prosecutors contend that this article acts as a specific safeguard—or lex specialis—designed to prevent states from evading accountability through sudden withdrawal.</p><p>&quot;A State shall not be discharged, by reason of its withdrawal, from the obligations arising from this Statute while it was a Party,&quot; the prosecution noted, citing the treaty’s text to emphasize that withdrawal cannot erase the court&#x27;s authority over past crimes.</p><p>The prosecution argued that finding otherwise &quot;would strike at the heart of the Philippines&#x27; status as a State Party at the time of the alleged crimes&quot; and allow an ex post facto act to circumvent the sovereign decision to protect civilians from serious international concern.</p><div><strong>PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS AS &#x27;LEGAL CONSIDERATION&#x27;</strong></div><p>The defense for Mr. Duterte has argued that the initial preliminary examination launched by the ICC was too &quot;informal&quot; to establish jurisdiction.</p><p>However, prosecutors rejected this, describing the examination as an &quot;active and focused inquiry leading to a specific legal conclusion&quot;.</p><p>The filing asserts that because the Prosecution announced its preliminary examination in February 2018—prior to the Philippines’ notice of withdrawal in March 2018—the &quot;matter&quot; was already &quot;under consideration by the Court.”</p><p>Prosecutors maintained that Mr. Duterte’s administration withdrew from the Statute even as the alleged campaign of killing continued.</p><p>“Yet Mr Duterte’s administration withdrew the Philippines from the Statute even as the alleged campaign of killing continued, commencing this process within days of the former Prosecutor announcing that she had initiated a preliminary examination of these allegations,” as stated in the document.</p><p>They argued that the court must preserve the balance between a state&#x27;s right to withdraw and the effectiveness of its original decision to join the treaty for the protection of its people.</p><p>“The Statute therefore balances these interests precisely. This is reflected in the meaning given in the Decision to the relationship between articles 12-13 of the Statute (jurisdiction) and article 127 (withdrawal),” the document explained. </p><p>The brief concludes by urging the Appeals Chamber to dismiss the defense appeal in its entirety, allowing the investigation into the former president&#x27;s &quot;war on drugs&quot; to proceed.</p><div><strong>OPCV URGES ICC: UPHOLD COURT&#x27;S JURISDICTION</strong></div><p>The Office of the Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) also filed a response at the International Criminal Court (ICC), urging judges to uphold the court’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes in the Philippines despite the nation&#x27;s withdrawal from the Rome Statute.</p><p> The legal filing, submitted on December 8 by Principal Counsel Paolina Massidda, serves as a rebuttal to an appeal by the defense for former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.</p><p>At the heart of the dispute is whether a &quot;preliminary examination&quot; conducted by prosecutors is enough to lock in the ICC’s authority before a country’s departure becomes final.
Massidda argues that the defense &quot;grossly misrepresents&quot; prior rulings. </p><p>She maintains that international law prevents leaders from using a withdrawal notification to freely get out of jail the moment they realize they are under scrutiny.
&quot;It would be entirely against the object and purpose [of the law] to interpret it in a way enabling a State Party to evade these responsibilities by withdrawing from the Statute immediately after such crimes are being examined,&quot; the filing states.
</p><p>The document outlines a detailed history of the court&#x27;s founding, noting that the drafters were &quot;acutely aware&quot; that states might try to avoid prosecution of crimes on the verge of discovery by simply quitting the treaty.</p><p>According to the OPCV, the term &quot;any matter&quot; under consideration by the court is broad enough to include the initial stages of a prosecutorial review.
The victims&#x27; counsel also points to the Philippines&#x27; own actions as a form of &quot;subsequent practice&quot; that validates the court&#x27;s authority.</p><p>“The Chamber found that this continued engagement of the Government of the Philippines lends further support for the interpretation that the Court retains jurisdiction pursuant to article 127(2) of the Statute,” as explained in the document.</p><p>Even years after deciding to leave the ICC, the filing notes, the Philippine government engaged with the court by requesting a deferral of the investigation and eventually surrendering Mr. Duterte.</p><p>“This was a deliberate act aimed at fulfilling its specific obligation arising from the Statute which in turn constitutes a discernible subsequent practice.66 This was also confirmed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines67 which also forms a part of the subsequent practice of the withdrawing State,” as stated in the document. The OPCV concludes that the defense&#x27;s arguments are &quot;misguided&quot; and lack merit.</p><p>The filing requests that the Appeals Chamber dismiss the defense challenge in its entirety, allowing the proceedings regarding the situation in the Philippines to move forward.</p><div> </div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uyt7dsXXA1k?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The office of the prosecutor formally requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) uphold its jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity committed during the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, despite the nation’s withdrawal from the court.</p>

The office of the prosecutor formally requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) uphold its jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity committed during the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, despite the nation’s withdrawal from the court.

ICC Prosecution fights to maintain jurisdiction in Duterte 'drug war' case

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ICC Prosecution fights to maintain jurisdiction in Duterte 'drug war' case

Bea Cuadra,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 09, 2025 07:19 AM PHT

|

Updated Dec 09, 2025 08:35 AM PHT

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international criminal court

rodrigo duterte

war on drugs

ICC

Duterte

The Hague

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