ICC Releases Decision on Challenge to Its Jurisdiction Filed by Lawyer of Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte amid his Detention
RODRIGO DUTERTE – The International Criminal Court (ICC) junked the challenge to its jurisdiction over the charges filed against the former President.
Former Pres. Duterte remains detained under the custody of the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands since March. He is facing three counts of murder charges as alleged “crimes against humanity” filed by the ICC prosecution panel.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte prays for the granting of the interim release of former Pres. Duterte. The ICC recently issued a decision junking the interim release plea with a unanimous decision from all three (3) judges. They believe that the continued detention of the former President is needed to ensure his attendance to the legal proceedings.
Previously, Vice Pres. Duterte claimed that a third country has already committed to host the interim release of former Pres. Duterte. According to her, her friends in other countries have helped her. She did not disclose which country she’s referring to but claimed that it is not Japan nor Australia.
The Vice President claimed that her father needs a 24-hour caregiver to take care of him. According to her, there was allegedly an instance when the former President was found unconscious on the floor of his ICC detention room and he was brought to the hospital but they were supposedly not informed about it.
The lawyer of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, Nicholas Kaufman, previously claimed that the former President is allegedly “not fit to stand trial” which resulted to the postponement of the ICC confirmation of charges against Duterte. According to him, his client is allegedly suffering from a ‘cognitive impairment’.
Kaufman also called on the ICC to adjourn all legal proceedings indefinitely. The British-Israeli Lawyer claimed that the former President is allegedly unable to recall events, places, and even members of his family.
Recently, the International Criminal Court released its decision to the challenge filed by the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte over its jurisdiction. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the ICC junked the former President camp’s challenge to its jurisdiction. Thus, the case will proceed at The Hague, Netherlands.
“The Chamber finds that the Court can exercise its jurisdiction in the present case over the crimes alleged against Mr Duterte that were committed on the territory of the Philippines while it was a State Party,” the judges stated in their 32-page decision.
Based on the report, the three (3) judges of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I had a unanimous decision on rejecting the challenge to the court’s decision over the case against former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. They also rejected the request of Duterte’s camp to postpone the issuance of the ruling after the medical assessment on the former President.
Previously, following the junking of his interim release plea, the ICC ordered medical examination by three (3) experts to former Pres. Duterte to determine his fitness to stand trial.