Duterte’s ICC Camp Requests Court To Excuse 2 Judges over Alleged Possibility of “Perceived Bias”
ICC – The International Criminal Court junked the request of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s camp to excuse two (2) judges from the ruling on jurisdiction issue.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is currently detained in The Hague, Netherlands for more than a month now. He is faced with an allegation of crimes against humanity due to his administration’s war on drugs. Before returning to the Philippines, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte has set the legal team of her father for his legal battle.
The legal team of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman. French lawyer Dr. Dov Jacobs is also an associate counsel in the team. According to Kaufman, he is confused why Duterte is being tried abroad and not in his own country emphasizing that he is a Filipino citizen.
Previously, the ICC revealed that more than 8,500 pages of written evidence against former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte are set to be presented in the case. The prosecution team is also set to present videos as part of the evidence against the former President.
As for the camp of Duterte, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman previously expressed his confidence on their jurisdictional argument. According to the British-Israeli lawyer, if he will be able to convince the judges that the court has no jurisdiction in the country, there might be no need to proceed to the Confirmation of Charges set on September 23.
Previously, the ICC stressed that while the Philippines is no longer a party under the Rome Statute, there were allegations that covered the time when the country was still a member. Recently, the lawyers of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte made a submission challenging the jurisdiction of the ICC in PH.
Based on a report on Inquirer, Duterte’s camp has requested the International Criminal Court to excuse the two (2) judges from ruling over the jurisdiction case. According to the lawyers, it is over the alleged possibility of “perceive bias”.
The ICC legal team of former Pres. Duterte requested for the exemption of Judge Reine Adélaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou and Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera in the jurisdiction case. They were two (2) of the judges who previously approved the preliminary probe against the former President.
In a four-page decision dated May 6 and signed by ICC Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, the court announced its decision to deny the request of Duterte’s camp. Based on the report, here’s a part of the decision:
“A judge’s excusal from the exercise of a function may only be sought by the concerned judge directly before the Presidency, as opposed to disqualification for which the Prosecution or the person being investigated or prosecuted may submit a request before the Presidency. The possibility for that person to invite or request judges to seek excusal before the Presidency is thus not contemplated in the statutory texts.”
Previously, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that her name is allegedly on the court’s list of persons who might be arrested. On this matter, Davao City Congressman Paolo Duterte joked that it is fine with him if their whole family will be detained at the ICC facility saying everything is free.