Lawyers of Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte Insists ICC No Jurisdiction in PH
RODRIGO DUTERTE – The lawyers of the former Philippine President made a submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) where they challenged its jurisdiction in the country.
Former Pres. Duterte is currently detained in an ICC detention facility in The Hague that his son, Congressman Paolo Duterte, refers to as the elder Duterte’s “retirement home”. The eldest son of the former Chief Executive is currently the one who is in abroad to visit him from time to time.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte who immediately flew to The Hague following the controversial arrest of the former President last March 11 just returned to the Philippines early this month. The Vice President finalized the ICC legal team of her father before she returned to the country.
The ICC legal team of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman. He previously clarified that former presidential spokesman Harry Roque is not part of the team contrary to Roque’s previously claim and aspiration.
French lawyer Dov Jacobs is also part of Duterte’s ICC legal team. According to the lead counsel of the former Philippine President, there is no Filipino lawyer in the official team. Duterte is faced with an allegation of crimes against humanity over his administration’s war on drugs campaign.
Recently, the lawyers of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte made a submission to the International Criminal Court where they challenged the jurisdiction of the ICC. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Duterte’s lawyers cited the framework of the Rome Statute with regards to its jurisdiction in the said submission.
“The jurisdictional framework of the Rome Statute is clear: A State must be a State Party at the time of the exercise of jurisdiction,” the submission reportedly stated.
Furthermore, the lawyers of the former Philippine President also asserted that the Prosecution has allegedly never demonstrated that the ICC “was legally authorised to exercise jurisdiction after the Philippines’ effective withdrawal from the Rome Statute”.
Based on the report, the withdrawal of the country from the ICC Rome Statue took effect on March 17, 2019. The ICC previously explained that there were allegations that took place between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 when the country was still a member of the ICC.
Previously, the ICC confirmed that the investigation on the other personalities linked to Duterte’s drug war is ongoing. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that her name is on the ICC list of persons who might be arrested.