MANILA, Philippines — The camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to allow an appeal of a ruling confirming crimes against humanity charges against him.
In a filing before the ICC Appeals Chamber, Duterte’s legal team sought permission to challenge the April 23 decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber I, which confirmed three counts of crimes against humanity and cleared the case to proceed to trial.
“The Defense for Mr. Rodrigo Roa Duterte hereby requests leave to appeal Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision confirming the charges against Mr. Duterte,” his lawyers said.
The defense raised two main arguments, saying the chamber allegedly erred in how it defined the charges and in how it assessed the evidence.
First, the lawyers argued that the court used what they described as a “flexible” approach in formulating the charges, which they said weakened the requirement that the accused be clearly informed of the nature and details of the allegations.
Second, they said the chamber failed to provide a sufficient evidentiary basis for confirming the charges, claiming it did not properly link findings to evidence or address key defense arguments, including the alleged absence of a common plan.
According to the defense, these issues affect the fairness and validity of the proceedings. They warned that without intervention from the Appeals Chamber, the case could move forward on what they described as an unclear legal and factual foundation.
The filing also urged prompt action, saying it would ensure the case proceeds on a properly defined evidentiary framework.
The Pre-Trial Chamber previously found reasonable grounds to proceed with charges of murder as crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Davao City and other parts of the Philippines during Duterte’s tenure as mayor and later as president, including incidents linked to anti-drug operations.
