THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Lawyers representing former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte formally contested the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) authority to proceed with its investigation into Duterte’s controversial anti-drug campaign, arguing that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction following the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute.
In a legal submission dated May 1, 2025, defense counsels Nicholas Kaufman and Dr. Dov Jacobs asserted that the ICC cannot legally exercise jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the Philippines, as the country is no longer a State Party to the Rome Statute.
“The jurisdictional framework of the Rome Statute is clear: A State must be a State Party at the time of the exercise of jurisdiction,” the lawyers stated.
They further argued that when the ICC’s pre-trial chamber moved to act on the former prosecutor’s request more than two years after the Philippines’ official withdrawal on March 17, 2019, the court’s jurisdiction had lapsed.
Duterte’s legal team also challenged the applicability of Article 127(2) of the Rome Statute, which holds that withdrawal from the treaty does not affect the court’s jurisdiction over crimes committed while the state was still a member.
According to the ICC, Duterte’s alleged crimes—including murder as a crime against humanity—occurred between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, when the Philippines was still under the ICC’s jurisdiction.
However, the ICC has maintained that it retains the authority to pursue cases involving crimes that took place during the Philippines’ membership.
In a March 12 situation report, the court revealed that it had issued an arrest warrant for Duterte after finding “reasonable grounds to believe” that he bore individual responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator for widespread and systematic killings linked to both the Davao Death Squad and state policy.
Dr. Fadi El Abdallah, ICC spokesperson, affirmed the court’s stance by pointing to precedent, notably in the case of Burundi, where the ICC continued investigating crimes committed while the country was still a member state, despite its later withdrawal.
“A withdrawal only affects the future… not the crimes committed when the state was still a party,” El Abdallah said.
Duterte was arrested on March 11 upon his return from Hong Kong, following an ICC arrest warrant.
The 80-year-old former president was swiftly flown to The Hague, where he now faces proceedings related to his administration’s bloody war on drugs, which allegedly resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings.