ICC rejects PH appeal; probe into Duterte’s drug war to continue

THE Philippine government’s appeal before the International Criminal Court (ICC), aimed at halting the investigation into the alleged atrocities committed during the Duterte war on drugs, has been shamefully unsuccessful, as it has lost all the grounds it presented.

Regarding the first ground, which claimed that the ICC lacked jurisdiction due to the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the Appeals Chamber clarified that its decision did not address jurisdiction.

Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut emphasized that the findings of the pre-trial chamber regarding jurisdiction were not a definitive ruling on the matter, but rather a reaffirmation of previous findings made during the authorization of the investigation.

The Philippines also argued that the pre-trial chamber had wrongly shifted the burden of proof in the context of Article 18 proceedings.

However, the Appeals Chamber dismissed this argument, stating that the information provided by the state in support of a deferral request did not affect the allocation of the burden of proof.

The majority of the chamber concluded that the Philippines had failed to demonstrate any error on the part of the pre-trial chamber regarding the burden of proof.

Additionally, the Philippines claimed that the pre-trial chamber had applied an incorrect legal standard and overstated the degree of overlap in the Article 18 context, thereby invalidating the inadmissibility statement.

However, the Appeals Chamber found no merit in this argument.

Lastly, the Philippines contended that the pre-trial chamber’s finding regarding the country’s lack of genuine effort in its investigation was not based on an actual assessment.

Brichambaut clarified that the finding should be understood in the context of a two-step approach applied by the pre-trial chamber.

This approach requires an assessment of the domestic authorities’ willingness and ability to genuinely carry out an investigation or prosecution only if there were ongoing or previous investigations or prosecutions.

In summary, the ICC rejected all the grounds raised by the Philippine government in its appeal against the continuation of the investigation into the alleged atrocities committed during the Duterte war on drugs. Abogado.ph