ManilaTimes-July 19
THE International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday rejected the Philippines’ appeal to stop the investigation of the country’s bloody war on drugs that was supported by the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Presiding judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said they could not entertain the appeal.
Out of the five judges, three concurred in rejecting the government’s appeal, saying that the chamber did not “err in law.” Two judges, including de Brichambaut, dissented. The Philippines had sought to stop the investigation, saying the court had no jurisdiction over the case. But the judges dismissed the Philippines’ protest.
“Contrary to the Philippines’ assertions, the findings of the Pre-Trial Chamber, in particular those concerning the jurisdiction over the present situation and the effect of the Philippines’ withdrawal on the court’s jurisdiction, are not a positive finding of jurisdiction, that is inextricably linked to the admissibility ruling,” the court said. “Rather, the Pre-Trial Chamber simply recalled and reaffirmed its previous findings on jurisdiction made in its decision authorizing the investigation and article 15 of the statute.” The ICC also said the Philippines’ 2018 withdrawal from the Rome Statute was “neither properly raised nor adequately ventilated before the Pre-Trial Chamber.”
The ruling means that the probe into the controversial drug war led by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan will continue after it was stopped in November 2021 at the government’s request. Former Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said that the former president “shrugged off” the ICC decision. “FPRRD has always maintained that, as an independent and sovereign state, only Philippine courts can try any crime committed in Philippine territory,” Roque said in a statement. Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said Tuesday that the ruling marked “the next step toward justice” for victims and their families. Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla has warned against foreign interference in the Philippines’ criminal justice system. Read more at: https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/07/19/news/icc-junks-ph-appeal-on-drug-war-probe/1901218
