Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan. ICC-CPI handout photo

Defense Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman (R) speaks with Xavier Jean Keita of the office of public council for defense on March 27, 2014 at the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague during Charles Ble Goude's initial appearance. Michael Kooren, AFP/File

Article (news)

Khan Kaufman

Bea Cuadra

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1757036847228cropped-photo-collage.png (1).png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and Duterte&#x27;s counsel Nicholas Kaufman. ICC-CPI handout photo and Michael Kooren, AFP/File</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The defense team of former President Rodrigo Duterte has formally requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber provide information about certain victims in the case, as they suspected a possible &quot;conflict on interest.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/13/21/britains-karim-khan-elected-international-criminal-court-prosecutor">Britain&#x27;s Karim Khan elected International Criminal Court prosecutor</a></div><p>“The Defense requests the Pre-Trial Chamber to notify it if any of the victim applicants that are in Group A are connected to those mentioned in section VII B of Mr Khan’s Article 15 communication entitled &#x27;Individual Incidents,&#x27;” stated in the document.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/5/icc-registry-submits-victims-participation-applications-in-duterte-case-0758">ICC Registry submits victims&#x27; participation applications in Duterte case</a></div><p>The request, filed by Duterte&#x27;s counsel Nicholas Kaufman on September 2, centers on a potential conflict of interest involving Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.</p><p>The defense&#x27;s submission argues that the investigation has been &quot;contaminated by virtue of being partly overseen by a chief prosecutor with conflicting obligations.&quot; </p><p>Kaufman&#x27;s concerns stem from Khan&#x27;s filing of an &quot;Article 15,&quot; which included representing &quot;more than 100 victims&quot; in the Philippines. </p><p>The defense alleges that Khan &quot;provided no support for his assertion that he properly withdrew from the representation of his former clients or obtained a waiver releasing him from his obligation to them.&quot; </p><p>They also pointed out that Khan did not disclose this past victim representation in the Philippines when he submitted his curriculum vitae for the Chief Prosecutor position, although he did mention similar work in other countries.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/01/05/24/icc-probers-in-ph-immigration-bureau-says-no-info-yet">ICC probers in Philippines? Immigration bureau says no info yet</a></div><p>The document, titled &quot;Defense request with respect to Group A participants,&quot; seeks to determine if any of the &quot;Group A&quot; victim applicants are connected to those mentioned in a section of Khan’s original communication titled &quot;Individual Incidents.&quot; </p><p>The Pre-Trial Chamber is not required to seek the defense&#x27;s observations on these specific victims, but the defense is hoping to get an exception.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>BACKGROUND ON VICTIMS&#x27; GROUPING</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>In a registry report dated August 27, 2025, the ICC detailed the assessment of applications from victims seeking to participate in the pre-trial proceedings. </p><p>The report, titled &quot;Registry Report on Group A and B Applications for Victim Participation in Pre-Trial Proceedings,&quot; revealed that a total of 304 applications were assessed for participation in the pre-trial proceedings.</p><p>The process for admitting victims, known as the &quot;A-B-C Approach,&quot; was adopted by Pre-Trial Chamber I (&quot;Chamber&quot;) on April 17, 2025.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/5/duterte-defense-prosecutors-agree-on-key-facts-0708">Duterte defense, prosecutors agree on key facts</a></div><p>This approach instructed the Registry to transmit specific groups of applications to the Chamber by designated deadlines.</p><p>The report highlights that the Registry &quot;hereby submits its assessment report of the applications classified as Group A and Group B.&quot;</p><p>This includes a &quot;brief description of the assessment criteria applied&quot; for 15 applications assessed as Group A and 10 applications assessed as Group B.</p><p>Group A applications, which are considered complete, are based on three key criteria: &quot;i. Their identity as natural persons is established; ii. They suffered harm; iii. The harm suffered is the result of crimes Mr Duterte is charged with.&quot;</p><p>The report notes that applications in this group may contain &quot;minor discrepancies,&quot; but that the Registry &quot;applied a degree of flexibility&quot; and considered that these discrepancies do not &quot;call into question the overall credibility of the information provided by the applicant.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/5/victims-counsel-opposes-duterte-s-release-bid-cites-safety-risk-trial-integrity-0906">Victims&#x27; counsel opposes Duterte&#x27;s release bid, cites safety risk, trial integrity</a></div><p>As a result, 15 applications, introduced on behalf of 29 individuals, were assessed as Group A.</p><p>Some of these applications, the report notes, &quot;raise issues regarding completeness.&quot;</p><p>The Registry is seeking clarification on how kinship between the applicants and the direct victim is established, with some cases relying on &quot;declarations from two witnesses supported by the latter’s identity documents,&quot; &quot;notarised statements,&quot; or other documents.</p><p>Meanwhile, the report stated that &quot;10 applications clearly falling outside the temporal and/or material scope of the Duterte case&quot; have been classified as Group B.</p><p>The specific reasons for rejecting these applications were included in a confidential annex to the report.</p><p>The confirmation of charges hearing in the case is &quot;provisionally scheduled to begin on 23 September 2025,&quot; marking the next step in the legal proceedings.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CLASH OVER LEGAL REPRESENTATION OF VICTIMS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, a new legal filing from the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) sheds light on a procedural debate at ICC concerning the legal representation of victims.</p><p>The document, dated August 27, 2025, details the OPCV&#x27;s observations on a report from the court&#x27;s Registry regarding the organization and monitoring of common legal representation for victims.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/5/16/icc-prosecutor-under-investigation-steps-aside-temporarily-2324">ICC prosecutor, under investigation, steps aside temporarily</a></div><p>The conflict centers on a proposal by the Registry to establish a monitoring system for legal representatives.</p><p>This is mentioned under the “On the proposed recommendation on the monitoring of Common Legal Representatives” part of the document.</p><p>This system would require regular updates on whether &quot;there is sufficient communication between counsel and client,&quot; on the &quot;activities of the CLRV,&quot; and on the implementation of additional measures &quot;to assess, and if necessary, recommend adjustments, to the common legal representation scheme,&quot; including &quot;establishing a reporting system.&quot;</p><p>The Principal Counsel for the OPCV, who currently represents the interests of potential victims, strongly opposes this proposed oversight.</p><p>&quot;It is not the Registry&#x27;s role to monitor how appointed legal representatives fulfill their mandate,&quot; the Principal Counsel argues.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/23/drug-war-victims-statements-in-icc-registry-report-show-applications-thoroughly-assessed-lawyer-1731">Drug war victims’ statements in ICC Registry report show applications thoroughly assessed: lawyer</a></div><p>The filing contends that lawyers representing victims are already governed by the Code of Professional Conduct for Counsel, which &quot;sets out ethical and professional standards, requiring counsel, inter alia, to act in good faith, with fairness, integrity and candour when dealing with clients.&quot; </p><p>The Code mandates a relationship &quot;of candid exchange and trust&quot; and already includes a &quot;comprehensive complaint procedure that would duly address possible issues related to victims&#x27; non-satisfaction with their legal representation.&quot;</p><p>The Principal Counsel also emphasizes that the proposed monitoring scheme &quot;is inconsistent with the Court&#x27;s legal framework, particularly the fundamental principle of independence of counsel and the Registry&#x27;s duty to maintain its neutral position at all times.&quot;</p><p>The OPCV&#x27;s filing makes a strong case that the Registry should not &quot;act as a de facto oversight mechanism or scrutineer of any counsel appointed to represent victims.&quot;</p><p>Such a course of action would &quot;ultimately lead to the Registry&#x27;s interference with counsel&#x27;s independence and to a discriminatory differentiation between lawyers since defense counsel would not be subjected to any similar monitoring scheme.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/1/conti-hopes-for-iccs-speedy-resolution-on-duterte-camps-move-to-disqualify-2-judges-1709">Conti hopes for ICC’s speedy resolution on Duterte camp’s move to disqualify 2 judges</a></div><p>The document also addresses the structure of the legal team that will ultimately represent the victims.</p><p>The Principal Counsel, currently appointed to represent the potential victims, &quot;leaves the issue of the organization of the common legal representation of victims to the discretion of the Chamber.&quot;</p><p>However, she confirms her &quot;availability to remain appointed, including as part of a team of lawyers, should the Chamber deem it appropriate under the present circumstances.&quot;</p><p>A key recommendation in the filing is the importance of including lawyers from the Philippines in the legal team.</p><p>The Principal Counsel &quot;emphasizes the added value of appointing counsel from the situation country, who have an understanding of the victims&#x27; situation and cultural context, as well as better access to the victims.&quot;</p><p>To achieve the best possible representation, the OPCV suggests &quot;combining the expertise of external counsel with that of counsel from the Office is likely to ensure the most appropriate solution for an effective and meaningful representation of victims in the proceedings before the Court.&quot;</p><p>This approach has been successful in past cases.</p><p>&quot;Demonstrated that the added value deriving from the synergies of the combined collaboration between lawyers of the OPCV and external lawyers is substantial, particularly in strengthening the effectiveness of the participation of victims,” as stated in the document.</p><p>The court&#x27;s Pre-Trial Chamber I is now tasked with considering these observations, along with responses from the Prosecution and Defense, as it works to solidify the legal representation for victims in this critical case.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><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/5TiwgKjpngM?&amp;pp=0gcJCfwAo7VqN5tD&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><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/_nOIcTbFgUk?&amp;t=1s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><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/x50gOdgHhRE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span> </div>

<p>The request, filed by Duterte's counsel Nicholas Kaufman on September 2, centers on a potential conflict of interest involving Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.</p>

The request, filed by Duterte's counsel Nicholas Kaufman on September 2, centers on a potential conflict of interest involving Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.

Conflict of interest? Duterte legal team challenges prosecutor's ties to some victims

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Conflict of interest? Duterte legal team challenges prosecutor's ties to some victims

Bea Cuadra,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 05, 2025 10:01 AM PHT

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Updated Sep 05, 2025 10:13 AM PHT

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ICC

Rodrigo Duterte

The Hague

Legal team

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