Metro Manila, Philippines – The Supreme Court has ordered parties in petitions challenging the arrest and detention of former President Rodrigo Duterte in the International Criminal Court (ICC) to submit their arguments ahead of a ruling.
Duterte’s children sought to block the transfer of their father to The Hague in the Netherlands in March, where he is facing alleged crimes against humanity for murder in connection to the bloody war on drugs.
In a resolution dated Nov. 11 and released Friday, Nov. 28, the court en banc ordered petitioners and respondents to file their memoranda within 30 days from notice, considering various issues surrounding the case, most especially if it was still relevant to be discussed.
The magistrates want to get the positions on whether the present controversy is already moot and on whether the court must exercise restraint amid the ICC proceedings.
The court also asked the petitioners and respondents whether a writ of habeas corpus, a judicial remedy against illegal detention, must be issued.
The SC resolution was publicized after the ICC Appeals Chamber upheld the ruling to keep Duterte in its custody, denying his request for interim release.
Duterte’s defense team has also appealed with the ICC Appeals Chamber the Pre-Trial Chamber I decision to reject the jurisdiction challenge on the case.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, which formed the ICC, in March 2019, but the international tribunal said it retains jurisdiction over alleged extrajudicial killings that occurred when the country was a member state from November 2011.
