Duterte seeks ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s disqualification over 'conflict of interest'

MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the International Criminal Court to bar chief prosecutor Karim Khan from taking any further role in the case against him, citing an “irreconcilable” conflict of interest and an alleged failure to disclose it.

In a 14-page public redacted filing dated August 7, Duterte’s counsel Nicholas Kaufman said Khan previously acted as a private lawyer for victims of the Duterte administration's anti-illegal drugs campaign before becoming ICC's chief prosecutor in June 2021. 

"This request to disqualify Mr Khan is grounded in an irreconcilable conflict of interest arising out of his former ... representation of ... victims of an alleged policy of extra-judicial drug-related killings in the Philippines and his subsequent role as Chief ICC Prosecutor, charged with overseeing a fair and impartial investigation of that very same policy of killing," the filing read. 

“When assuming the role of Chief Prosecutor … and proceeding to oversee the investigation in the Philippines, Mr. Khan took on the statutory obligation of actively seeking exculpatory evidence,” the filing said. “Yet such evidence could … cast doubt on the testimony provided by the same people whose interests he had been charged to protect.”

The defense claimed there is no record that Khan sought a waiver from his former clients before leading the probe, and accused him of “abus[ing] the criminal process to push forward an investigation in which he had an undeclared personal interest.”

Kaufman also claimed Khan “relied on information obtained while defending the independent interests of the victims to support actions falling under an entirely separate mandate” as prosecutor — a “blatant conflict of interest” prohibited under Rule 34(1)(b) of the ICC’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence. That rule lists prior involvement in legal proceedings involving the accused as grounds for disqualification.

According to the filing, Khan first disclosed his previous role on March 6, 2025 — a month after the ICC applied for Duterte’s arrest warrant. The warrant was issued on March 7, and Duterte was surrendered to the court on March 12. 

Kaufman said the prosecution only shared information about Khan's background on June 27, and declined to answer follow-up questions.

The filing also cited the Appeals Chamber’s August 1 decision in a separate case — Venezuela I — where judges found “reason to believe” grounds for Khan’s disqualification due to a familial link to government counsel.  Kaufman argued that the same “reasonable apprehension of bias” standard applies to Duterte’s case, even without proving actual partiality.

What exactly is Khan's background? How Khan supposedly represented drug war victims is not shown in the publicly available copy of the filing itself, which redacted most details of his earlier work and the identities of those involved.

Khan's CV on the ICC website notes that — among the many public lectures and events he has attended — he once served as "trainer and course director" on human rights investigations for the Philippines' Commission on Human Rights from February 21 to 23, 2018.

It was weeks before — specifically on Feb. 8, 2018 — that then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that she had opened a preliminary examination into the situation of the Philippines under Duterte's violent war on drugs. 

Why the timing matters. The request to disqualify Khan comes weeks before the scheduled September 23 confirmation of charges hearing against Duterte, who has been in ICC custody since March 12 on crimes against humanity charges linked to thousands of extrajudicial killings during his presidency, and earlier, as Davao City mayor. 

Duterte's lawyers have previously sought to delay this September 23 hearing, which would ultimately determine if there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial.

Victims of the drug war had earlier asked the ICC to reject Duterte's request to delay the court's ruling on the jurisdiction issue. They said Duterte's request “lacks any proper procedural foundation” and runs counter to the interests of victims.

Khan is currently on self-imposed leave to address unrelated allegations of sexual misconduct.

— with reports by Ian Laqui