ICC Registry Lists Dov Jacobs as Duterte’s New Lawyer in his Legal Team
Duterte’s new lawyer, French legal counsel Dov Jacobs, is seen to possibly focus on the argument over the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is currently in the Hague, Netherlands where he is detained under the custody of the International Criminal Court. Duterte is faced with an allegation of crimes against humanity over his administration’s war on drugs.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is now back in the Philippines from the Netherlands after more than three weeks of stay in The Hague for her father. The Vice President returned to the country after the ICC legal team of former Pres. Duterte.
The legal team of the former Philippine President is led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman. Duterte’s lead counsel hopes to convince the judge that the ICC allegedly has no jurisdiction in the Philippines.
Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman also asked the ICC for stricter regulations on the verification of the alleged victims of the drug war. It earned a reaction from Filipino ICC lawyer Joel Butuyan who stressed that there are victims who are allegedly coming from the poor communities and don’t have the requirements that Duterte’s camp want the ICC to mandate.
Based on the ICC registry, another lawyer in the ICC legal team of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is French lawyer Dov Jacobs. Based on his LinkedIn profile, Duterte’s new lawyer has handled cases of crimes against humanity.
Based on a report on PhilStar Global, Duterte’s new lawyer is seen to focus on the jurisdictional argument of their camp. Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman cited the experience of the French lawyer as the reason why he is part of the ICC legal team of the former Philippine President.
“Dr. Dov Jacobs is a well-known and highly respected academic in the field of international humanitarian law,” the British-Israeli Lawyer said.
Jacobs is an associate counsel in Duterte’s ICC legal team. As per the report, it was in April 3 when he joined the team. The confirmation of charges of the former Philippine President is scheduled on September 23.
Amid his detention under the ICC, former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte said he wants to die in Philippine soil. Thus, he wants the proceedings to take as fast as possible.