Rodrigo Duterte's lawyers ask ICC for urgent status meet by July 25
Former president Rodrigo Duterte's defense team is asking the International Criminal Court to convene a status conference before its summer recess on July 25.
In a five-page redacted document dated July 15, they requested the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to schedule the status conference "as soon as practicable" pursuant to rule 121(2)(b) of the rules of procedure and evidence.
"The Defense suggests that the status conference should take place before the summer recess, slated to begin on 25 July 2025," they said.
The Duterte camp questioned whether the current scheduled hearing on the confirmation of charges (Sept. 23, 2025) remains feasible given the delays, "which cannot be attributable to the Defense."
It noted that: "(i) a month passed from the moment that the Defence requested [REDACTED] on 15 April 2025, until they were received on 16 May 2025; (ii) the [REDACTED] underlying [REDACTED] on 16 May 2025 was only supplied to the Defence on 7 July 2025; (iii) an [REDACTED] requested more than a month ago [REDACTED] is yet to be [REDACTED]; and (iv) the [REDACTED] more than a month ago are yet to be received."
They asked the ICC to decide "as a matter of urgency, given the importance of the issues raised therein."
According to the ICC Chambers Practice Manual, which Duterte's camp cited, status conferences include oral orders and clarifications in relation to the conduct of the proceedings, "increasing efficiency and eliminating the need for cumbersome written decisions. Parties’ procedural requests can also be received, debated, and decided."
Duterte's camp mentioned the "effect of impeding advancement of the Defense’s arguments," and that it's "highly unlikely, if not impossible, that the Defence will be able [REDACTED] before the deadline of 24 July 2025."
Citing the "delay in the receipt of [REDACTED], as well as the "continued holdup in [REDACTED]," they argued that it "foreshadows similar setbacks in the coming months," hence the "urgent need for a status conference to allow the parties to suggest, and the Pre-Trial Chamber to decide, [REDACTED]."
Duterte has been at the ICC since March 12. He was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 11 following a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC via the International Criminal Police Organization.
He has been accused of being an "indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder pursuant to Article 7 (1)(a) of the Roman Statute."
Specifically, he was allegedly involved in the murder of at least 19 persons reported to be drug pushers or thieves who were killed by members of the Davao Death Squad in various locations in or around Davao City between 2011 and 2016, as well as the murder of at least 24 alleged criminals who were killed by or under the supervision of members of the Philippines law enforcement at various locations in the country between 2016 and 2019 during his term as president.
He could be the first Asian former head of state to be indicted by the ICC.
After the confirmation of charges, judges have up to 60 days to decide whether the case will proceed to trial.
The trial, meanwhile, may take years before a final judgment is rendered.
