Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s Lawyer, Spoke on Jurisdictional Argument
Duterte’s lawyer Nicholas Kaufman hopes that they will be able to convince the judges that the International Criminal Court (ICC) cannot exercise jurisdiction in the Philippines.
The March 11 turn of events shocked the Filipino populace. Former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was arrested in Manila by the Philippine National Police (PNP) over an arrest warrant issued by the ICC.
Duterte was detained at the Villamor Air Base for several hours but was allegedly barred from seeing his daughter, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. On the same day, the former President was flown to Netherlands via Dubai.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is currently under a regular detention at an ICC detention facility in The Hague. He stayed for several days at the hospital wing of the Hague Penitentiary Institution but is “feeling better” now.
What surprised many Filipinos was the appearance of former presidential spokesman Harry Roque at The Hague. According to him, he will be part of the legal team of the former President. The ICC-accredited lawyer is faced with an arrest order issued by the House of Representatives in the Philippines.
Harry Roque vowed to secure the return of Duterte to the Philippines as he will defend him before the ICC. According to him, he will apply for asylum in the Netherlands. His pronouncements did not sit well with many people including the Palace.
Malacañang told Harry Roque to defend himself first before other people. However, contrary to the claim of the former presidential spokesman, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte announced that he will not be part of her father’s legal team.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte explained that he wants the lawyers of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to really focus in his ICC case. She stressed that Roque must focus on his application for asylum. The former President’s legal team will be led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman.
Duterte’s lawyer is confident about their camp’s legal arguments before the ICC. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Nicholas Kaufman pointed out their jurisdictional claim amid a hope that the proceedings won’t even reach the confirmation of charges.
“Coming back to the jurisdictional point, obviously you don’t need to be the dean of a law faculty to realize that that’s going to be a huge issue at pre-trial,” Duterte’s lawyer said.
Atty. Nicholas Kaufman admitted that he will be disappointed if their jurisdictional argument will not succeed. Based on the report, the 56-year-old lawyer tagged it as “compelling as defense counsel”.
“We hope to persuade the judges pre-trial that it cannot exercise its jurisdiction over the case. There won’t be a confirmation-of-charges hearing if the judges rule in our favor,” Duterte’s lawyer said.
Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque stressed that it is VP Sara Duterte’s call on who will compose the legal team of her father in his ICC trial. According to him, he has always been obedient to the instructions of the Vice President.