The Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV), representing alleged drug war victims, has petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to dismiss a motion filed by the lawyers of former President Rodrigo Duterte seeking to junk the charge of crimes against humanity against him on the basis of “lack of jurisdiction.”

OPCV’s principal counsel, Paolina Massidda, detailed in a 27-page document dated 9 June the potential hazards if Duterte’s defense succeeds, including, among other things, the possibility of the termination of the proceedings.

“[Victims] expressed the view that if the court chooses to uphold the overly restrictive reading of the statute proposed by the defense, and the suspect is returned to the Philippines as a result, they will have no judicial recourse and no hope of pursuing justice,” Massidda said.

“Moreover, they indicated that they could face threats from the suspect and his supporters,” she added.

Duterte’s lawyers—Nicholas Kaufman and Dov Jacobs—moved for an early dismissal of his case, arguing that the ICC no longer had jurisdiction over the former president, citing the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2019.

They contended that the continuation of the proceedings had “no basis,” hence Duterte must be immediately released from the ICC’s custody.

The OPCV, representing alleged extrajudicial killing victims pending their common legal representatives, however, countered that the withdrawal had no legal effect in any way on the ICC’s exercise of jurisdiction, as the preliminary investigation into Duterte’s anti-drug campaign had already commenced before the withdrawal became effective.

Kaufman has insisted that Article 127 of the Statute, which allows the ICC to continue cases initiated before a withdrawal takes effect, does not apply in Duterte’s case.

But Massidda maintained that the provision is “crystal clear,” and that the ICC’s jurisdiction was well-established.

She warned that any reinterpretation of the provision would defeat the Statute’s purpose, set a dangerous precedent, and allow withdrawn countries to impede the ICC’s jurisdiction.

“If such were the case, the court could never exercise its jurisdiction. In other words, most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole will go unpunished and the effective prosecution of atrocities committed against countless victims will never materialize,” the principal counsel pointed out.