The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s challenge to its jurisdiction, affirming that the tribunal can proceed with its investigation into alleged crimes committed during his administration’s controversial war on drugs.
In a decision released on Thursday, October 23, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I ruled that the Court maintains jurisdiction over Duterte’s case, emphasizing that the preliminary examination into the Philippines’ anti-drug campaign began before the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019.
“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 chamber stated in its ruling.
The ICC underscored that Article 127(2) of the Rome Statute prevents any state from using its withdrawal to shield individuals from accountability for crimes already under the Court’s consideration.
The decision reads:
“Far from ‘trumping’ the Court’s jurisdictional regime, Article 127(2) is an essential part of it… ensuring that [a State] is not able to abuse that right by shielding persons from justice in relation to alleged crimes that are already under consideration by the Court.”
With this ruling, the ICC’s pre-trial proceedings into alleged extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s anti-drug campaign are set to move forward.
The Philippines officially withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the ICC, on March 17, 2019, following criticisms of the Court’s probe into the Duterte administration. However, under international law, withdrawal does not nullify jurisdiction over crimes committed while a country was still a member state.
The Duterte administration has repeatedly maintained that the ICC no longer has authority over the Philippines, asserting that the country’s judicial system is capable of investigating the alleged abuses internally.
The ICC’s latest decision, however, reaffirms that the tribunal retains the power to continue its investigation despite the country’s withdrawal.
