The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I, Judge Maria del Socorro Flores Liera, decided to postpone former President Rodrigo Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing, which was originally slated for September 23.

This comes after the request of Duterte’s defense team for an “indefinite adjournment” of the proceedings, alleging that the former state leader is “not fit to stand trial.” As a result, the majority of the Chamber considered a limited postponement of the hearing to give sufficient time to adjudicate the request and related matters.

“The Chamber will, if applicable, set a specific date once it has addressed such outstanding matters,” the ICC wrote in a press release on Monday, September 8.

“The purpose of the confirmation of charges hearing is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged. If one or more of the charges are confirmed, the case will be transferred to a Trial Chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial,” it added.

Duterte was arrested in March this year and was later flown to The Hague, Netherlands, and surrendered to the ICC. He made his initial appearance before the ICC hearing in March 2025 via video link.