Du30 lawyers’ bid to have charges refiled opposed
The prosecution and lawyers of the victims of the drug war of then President Rodrigo Duterte objected to a motion by his lawyers before the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking to have the charges against him refiled, saying they cannot revisit that matter at the trial stage.
In a filing on Aug. 31, Duterte’s lawyers asked Trial Chamber (TC) III to have the charges “properly inform…the accused of the case he needs to meet.”
The defense said it wants the scope of the charges defined in terms of how many counts they constitute. It also seeks an “exhaustive list of underpinning acts” to represent the entirety of the charges. The former president faces three counts of crimes of humanity of murder.
Duterte’s lawyers were referring to the prosecution’s document containing the charges, which accused Duterte of being criminally responsible for the killing of 76 individuals in 49 incidents during the drug war.
Reopening the charges?
In separate filings dated Sept. 10, the prosecution and the common legal representative of victims (CLRVs) opposed the defense’ motion, saying that questions on the “adequacy” posed by the defense were already determined and affirmed by Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) I.
“To the contrary, the three counts each have a clear temporal, geographical and material scope, and this is consistent with the requirements of article 74(2) of the [Rome] Statute,” the prosecution said in its 10-page response, referring to the 2002 treaty which established the court.
It added “The…mere disagreement [of the defense] with the analysis of the [PTC] is insufficient to show any defect.”
The CLRVs sought the outright rejection of the motion for being “procedurally misconceived.”
They said the defense cannot just ask TC III to reopen the issue “under the guise of a motion concerning the ‘form’ of the charges.”
“[S]hould the Chamber consider that the defence genuinely seeks to challenge defects in the [document containing the charges], such objections belong to the pre-confirmation stage and cannot now be raised before the trial chamber,” they said in a 10-page response.
They said the defense merely reiterated its disagreement with PTC’s earlier decision and “advance[d] no argument” to warrant a reversal.
Another defense motion
The trial of Duterte, who is detained in The Hague, is scheduled to begin on Nov. 30 and is seen to continue until next year.
A third status conference will be held on Sept. 16 to discuss the prosecution’s list of witnesses and evidence, the number of hours it needs to present its case and its disclosure of evidence.
The prosecution last week also opposed a proposal by the defense to authenticate its evidence from open source and user-generated materials, saying this step is “unnecessary and burdensome” and even risks delaying the start of the trial.
It said the prosecution should have the discretion to determine whether a certain piece of evidence from open source or user-generated materials should be accompanied by a certification from an expert.
It cited as an example information from open sources that are credible sources—such as the United Nations, nongovernment organizations and government websites—and should not require authentication by experts.
