Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13) — The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to hand down its decision on July 18 on the Philippine government’s plea against the court’s move to resume its investigation into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
“Judgment in the above appeal will be delivered in open court on Tuesday, 18 July 2023 at 10h00,” the ICC said in a scheduling order dated July 12. It was signed by ICC Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut.
The ICC halted its probe into the anti-drug campaign in November 2021 at the request of the Duterte administration.
Last January, the court’s pre-trial chamber authorized the resumption of the investigation as it was not convinced that the Philippine government is “making a real or genuine effort” to conduct probes and prosecutions regarding the matter.
In February, the Marcos administration, through Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, appealed to suspend the ruling and reverse the decision, insisting that the Hague-based tribunal had no jurisdiction over the country.
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In 2018, then President Rodrigo Duterte pulled the country out of the ICC following the launch of the preliminary investigation by ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. A formal inquiry began in September 2021.
With a one-year waiting period before it takes effect, the Philippines only officially stopped being an ICC member state in March 2019.
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he “cannot cooperate” with the ICC.
On March 27, the ICC’s Appeals Chamber rejected the Philippine government’s request to suspend its probe pending resolution of Manila’s main appeal against the resumption of the probe “in the absence of persuasive reasons.”
With the failure of its bid to stop the proceedings, Marcos then said the country will be “disengaging from any contact, from any communication” with the ICC.
