French lawyer Dov Jacobs joined the defense team of former president Rodrigo Duterte in his crimes against humanity charges in the International Criminal Court.
Dov Jacobs/ LinkedIn
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French lawyer Dov Jacobs is the latest addition to the defense team of former President Rodrigo Duterte in his crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a document posted on the ICC website, the international tribunal’s Pre-Trial Chamber 1 acknowledged Jacobs' appointment as associate counsel in the proceedings.
“The Registry hereby informs Pre-Trial Chamber I that on 2 April 2025, Mr. Nicholas Kaufman, counsel of record for Mr. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, requested Mr. Dov Jacobs to assist the defense team as Associate Counsel in the proceedings before the International Criminal Court,” it stated.
“The appointment has been confirmed by the Registry on 3 April 2025, following Mr. Jacobs’ acceptance,” it added.
As associate counsel, Jacobs will support Kaufman — Duterte’s lead defense counsel — by providing legal advice, conducting research, drafting legal documents, and assisting with the Court’s operations.
Jacobs is an expert in international law, international criminal law, human rights, and transitional justice, with 15 years of experience.
He is also an assistant professor of Public International Law at Leiden University and a regular guest professor at various institutions, including Sciences Po and Université de Lille, among others.
He earned his law degrees from King’s College London, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, and Paris II Panthéon-Assas, and holds a degree in Political Science from Sciences Po, Paris.
He completed his PhD at the European University Institute in Florence, focusing on hybrid tribunals and international criminal law.
On his website, Jacobs stated that he is also on the defense teams of Laurent Gbagbo and Mahamat Said at the ICC, and involved in the case of Félicien Kabuga at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (MICT).
Gbagbo and Kabuga are former presidents of the Ivory Coast, both accused of crimes against humanity related to the post-electoral violence in their country from December 2010 to April 2011.
In 2019, ICC judges ruled that the prosecution had not presented enough evidence to continue the trial against Gbagbo. They acquitted him of all charges and ordered his release.
The prosecution appealed the acquittal. In 2021, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC overturned the acquittal, ruling that there were errors in the decision and ordering a retrial.
Duterte is suspected of murder, qualified as a crime against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.
According to government data, at least 7,000 people were killed under Duterte's drug war. However, both local and international human rights groups dispute these figures, arguing that the actual number of victims could be as high as 30,000.
