ICC upholds jurisdiction on Duterte case

The International Criminal Court rejects former president Rodrigo Duterte’s challenge to the court’s jurisdiction over his ongoing case connected to alleged crimes committed during the government’s so-called war on drugs.

In a ruling dated October 23, the court stated that it still has the legal power to continue investigating and prosecuting Duterte despite its withdrawal from the Rome Statute on March 17, 2019, because the alleged crimes took place while the country was still a member-state.

ICC emphasized that Article 127 of the Rome Statute outlines the jurisdiction of the court when a state withdraws its membership.

“A State shall not be discharged, by reason of its withdrawal, from the obligations arising from this Statute while it was a Party to the Statute, including any financial obligations which may have accrued,” the Article 127 read.

While the ICC guarantees the right of a member state to withdraw from the Statute, it pointed out that Article 127 is in place to ensure that it is not abused.

“Its withdrawal shall not affect any cooperation with the Court in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing State had a duty to cooperate and which were commenced prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective, nor shall it prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective,” Article 127 further read.

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