Status conference on Duterte's ICC trial set May 27

MANILA, Philippines —The Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will hold its first status conference on the crimes against humanity case against former president Rodrigo Duterte on May 27.

This was announced through a five-page scheduling order signed by Presiding Judge Joanna Korner and Judges Keebong Paek and Nicolas Guillou on April 30.

The status conference will be livestreamed on the ICC website with a 30-minute delay.

The judges ordered the parties to file submissions addressing procedural matters involving the case, including those related to the commencement of trial, the anticipated evidence to be presented, the agreed facts, the languages to be used by parties and the disclosures from the prosecution and the defense.

The trial chamber also requested parties to submit information related to trial briefs, motions requiring resolution prior to commencement of trial, estimated time of opening statements and updates and forecast on the applications for victim participation.

“Should the parties and participants know of any matters which may delay the start of the trial or which should be resolved before the status conference, they should promptly bring these to the Chamber’s attention,” it added.

The Trial Chamber ordered the parties and the ICC Registry to provide the submissions on or before May 15.

Duterte’s defense counsel moved to appeal the April 23 decision of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I that confirmed the charges.

If granted, the request for leave to appeal will allow the defense to raise their issues before the ICC Appeals Chamber.