ICC to rule on Duterte’s jurisdiction plea on April 22

MANILA, Philippines — The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will issue its judgment tomorrow on the appeal of former president Rodrigo Duterte on the issue of jurisdiction.

The five-member Appeals Chamber will deliver its judgment in open court at 11 a.m. in The Hague (5 p.m. in Manila).

Duterte has sought the permission of the chamber for him to skip the reading of judgment on his appeal. He submitted a waiver designating his lawyers to represent him.

The Appeals Chamber has yet to issue its decision on the request as of Monday afternoon (Manila time).

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 the Pre-Trial Chamber I.

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

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