Duterte's defense team seeks disqualification of ICC chief prosecutor Khan over 'conflict of interest’

The defense team of former President Rodrigo Duterte seeks to disqualify Prosecutor Karim Khan from the case after he "failed to disclose a grievous conflict of interest."

Duterte's camp, led by Nicholas Kaufman, has requested that the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court disqualify Khan for his supposed involvement in the case by representing the war on drugs victims as a private lawyer before he became the chief ICC prosecutor in June 2021.

"Mr. Khan first acted in his capacity as a private lawyer for [REDACTED] victims of the so-called war on drugs, [REDACTED]. [REDACTED], [REDACTED]. In his subsequent role as Chief Prosecutor, Mr Khan seemingly exploited the information that he had acquired as a victims’ representative [REDACTED]. Mr Khan relied on information obtained while defending the independent interests of the victims to support actions falling under an entirely separate mandate — one that also carries the obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence," the document dated Aug. 7 read.

"This conflation of roles, leading to a blatant conflict of interest, is precisely what Rule 34(1)(b) seeks to prevent," it added. 

Kaufman referred directly to the ICC’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which list specific grounds for disqualifying a prosecutor, including “involvement, in his or her private capacity, in any legal proceedings initiated prior to his or her involvement in the case, or initiated by him or her subsequently, in which the person being investigated or prosecuted was or is an opposing party.”

He added that Khan did not disclose his conflict of interest until March 6, a month after the ICC applied for an arrest warrant against Duterte. Duterte's camp said that they only learned the true extent of Khan's involvement in the case on June 27.

They also pointed out Khan's alleged sexual misconduct as one of the reasons for his disqualification, questioning his "high moral" character.

“Additionally, Mr Khan’s current self-imposed leave of absence to deal with allegations of sexual abuse and retaliatory acts perpetrated against his staff rebuts the presumption to which he would otherwise be entitled; namely, that he is of “high moral” character and that his notifications should be taken as gospel,” it read.

"Given the imminence of the confirmation of charges hearing, presently scheduled for 23 September 2025, the Defence respectfully requests that the Appeals Chamber swiftly adjudicate this request to ensure that Mr Khan is precluded from further participation in, and contamination of, the present case," it added.