ICC ruling on Duterte’s appeal out on April 22

MANILA, Philippines — The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will release its decision on the appeal of former president Rodrigo Duterte regarding jurisdiction over his case this month.

The five-member Appeals Chamber will deliver its judgment in open court on April 22 at 11 a.m. in The Hague (5 p.m. in Manila), according to a scheduling order released by the ICC on Thursday.

The three-page order was signed by Presiding Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza.

Duterte’s lawyers are appealing the Oct. 23 decision of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, which dismissed their challenge to the tribunal’s jurisdiction over the charges filed against the former president.

The Appeals Chamber is composed of a different set of judges from those in Pre-Trial Chamber I.

The pre-trial judges ruled that the ICC retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity committed in the Philippines while it was still a member of the court.

In their appeal, defense lawyers Nicholas Kaufman and Dov Jacobs argued that the pre-trial chamber erred in ruling that the matter concerning the Philippines was already “under consideration” when the withdrawal took effect in 2019.

The defense urged the Appeals Chamber to “find that there exists no legal basis for the continuation” of the ICC proceedings against the former president and to order his “immediate and unconditional release” from detention.

Under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, a country’s withdrawal 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 pre-trial chamber ruling stated that the case was already “under consideration” by the ICC prosecutor even before the Philippines’ withdrawal took effect in 2019.

It cited the preliminary examination that triggered the Duterte administration’s decision to withdraw from the tribunal.

Both the ICC prosecutor and the victims’ legal representatives have opposed the defense’s appeal.

The judgment on the issue of jurisdiction is expected to be released ahead of the pre-trial chamber’s decision on whether to confirm the charges against Duterte.