Statement of ICC on Denying Duterte Camp’s Request To Excuse 2 Judges from Jurisdiction Ruling
ICC – The International Criminal Court denied the request of the team of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for the exemption of 2 judges from the ruling over the issue on jurisdiction.
Following his controversial arrest last March 11, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is currently under the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. He was immediately flown out of the country on the same day that he was arrested.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte immediately flew to The Hague for her father. She set the legal team of the former President before she returned to the country in April. Currently, it is Davao Congressman Paolo Duterte who joked about everything being free inside the ICC detention facility who is in The Hague.
According to Congressman Pulong, it is okay with him if their whole family will be detained inside the detention facility with his father as everything including the security and food is free. He refers to the former President’s detention facility as his “retirement home”.
Congressman Paolo Duterte previously admitted that the detention of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is painful to them but they are taking it one day at a time. The ICC legal team of the former President is led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman.
Aside from Kaufman, French lawyer Dr. Dov Jacobs is also part of Duterte’s team for his legal battle before the International Criminal Court. Recently, through a submission, the ICC lawyers of Duterte insisted that the court has no jurisdiction in the Philippines.
Based on a report on Inquirer, the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte also requested the International Criminal Court to excuse two (2) judges from ruling in the issue of jurisdiction. The said judges are Judge Reine Adélaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou and Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera.
However, the ICC reportedly denied the request of Duterte’s camp to excuse the two (2) judges who have previously approved the preliminary investigation against the former President. Based on the report, the camp asked for the exemption of the two (2) judges over an alleged possible “perceived bias”.
“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,” the decision of the ICC read.
On the issue of jurisdiction, previously, it was reported that Duterte’s ICC lawyers cited the “letter” of Pres. Bongbong Marcos to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte.