The camp of the drug war victims is closely monitoring the developments before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prevent further delaying tactics by the defense team of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Duterte’s fitness for trial is a particularly contentious issue because of conflicting narratives and utterly confusing messages… On the part of the victims, we are closely monitoring the process to ensure that the rights of all parties are observed and fulfilled, and that any delaying tactic is offset,” said ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti in a statement.
Last month, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I appointed three members of a panel of independent experts to assess the medical condition of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Conti noted, however, that he would still remain in detention if declared unfit for trial.
“If the reports indicate that Duterte is unfit, the case will be adjourned and not dismissed) by the judges. He will remain in the custody of the ICC and the case will be reviewed every 120 days (four months),” she explained.
Meanwhile, if the reports convince the judges to declare him fit to stand trial, the hearing on the confirmation of charges can be rescheduled as soon as possible.
In a separate interview with Manila Standard, lawyer Evecar Cruz-Ferrer said the fact that Duterte will remain under ICC’s custody even if unfit for trial is not contrary to humanitarian law.
“They can always explore various tactics to delay. The good thing with ICC, the rules are well written and adhered to by parties. Also, they have established jurisprudence coming from past cases,” she said.
