Lawyers for former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to dismiss the case against him over his bloody drug war campaign, saying the tribunal has no jurisdiction to proceed following the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

In a 10-page public redacted reply dated 10 July 2025, Duterte’s defense team argued that the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor committed a “wilful neglect” by failing to disclose key materials relevant to the jurisdictional dispute in a timely manner. They claim the prosecution’s delayed action undermined the former president’s right to a fair defense and led to “irreparable prejudice.”

The filing responds to the prosecution’s earlier arguments that the ICC retains jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines was still a State Party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the international court.

According to the defense, the ICC’s preliminary examination into the Duterte administration’s drug war “lacks consequence” because the Philippines had already withdrawn from the Rome Statute by the time the investigation was authorized.

“If the State in question is not a State Party contemporaneously with the exercise of jurisdiction, then no investigation may be initiated,” the defense said in the filing. “Whatever steps were taken during the preliminary examination lack consequence.”

The lawyers also questioned the pre-trial chamber’s earlier refusal to disqualify two judges despite new evidence, which they say now casts a different light on the court’s prior decisions on jurisdiction. The defense said the newly disclosed information adds a “totally new dimension” that should favor Duterte’s claim.

‘Not about impunity’

Addressing the prosecution’s appeal to the ICC’s broader mandate to fight impunity, the defense countered that accountability cannot override a suspect’s right to legal propriety and due process.

“The ‘fight against impunity’ cannot warrant an inappropriate application of the Rome Statute,” the defense argued, citing past ICC rulings that said judicial fairness must take precedence over political or emotional goals.

The lawyers emphasized that while Duterte does not seek to avoid prosecution, such proceedings should take place within the Philippine justice system.

“If I committed a sin, prosecute me in Philippine courts, with Filipino judges, and I will allow myself to be jailed in my own nation,” Duterte said in a previous statement quoted by the filing.

The defense also criticized the ICC prosecutor for failing to initiate a full investigation before the expiration of the Philippines’ one-year withdrawal notice in 2019, arguing that the court missed its opportunity to legally assert jurisdiction.

“The Prosecutor has to make all efforts to trigger the Court’s jurisdiction in a manner that would not infringe the right of a State to withdraw from the Statute,” the filing noted, quoting a 2023 dissenting opinion from ICC Judges Perrin De Brichambaut and Gocha Lordkipanidze.

Call for immediate release

Duterte’s legal team urged the pre-trial chamber to acknowledge the lack of jurisdiction and immediately end the proceedings.

“The Defence respectfully requests the Pre-Trial Chamber to find that there is no jurisdictional basis for the continuation of proceedings against Mr. Duterte and to order his immediate and unconditional release,” the lawyers wrote.

The filing was submitted by defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman and associate counsel Professor Dov Jacobs.

The ICC is investigating allegations of crimes against humanity committed during Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, which has drawn international condemnation for thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings.

Despite the Philippines' withdrawal from the ICC in 2019, the tribunal has maintained that it retains jurisdiction over crimes that occurred while the country was still a member.