ICC grants Duterte bid to delay ruling on interim release

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has granted the petition of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s camp to defer the decision on their request for his interim release, despite earlier invoking his advanced age as grounds for urgent temporary liberty.

Duterte’s lead legal counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, initially sought his client’s immediate provisional release on 12 June, but just two days later, he urged the court to postpone its ruling, citing alleged delays in obtaining certain information from the prosecution.

Although Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera dissented, the petition was nonetheless approved by a majority vote from Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc and Judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou of Pre-Trial Chamber I.

The ruling states that deferring a decision on a request for interim release is not provided for in the ICC’s legal framework but was granted based on the supporting documents submitted by the defense.

The judges emphasized that it is the “defense’s responsibility to ensure that all relevant information and materials in support of its requests are put before the chamber at the time of submission, particularly when adjudication is sought on an urgent basis.”

Since Duterte preserves the right to apply for interim release at any point pending his trial under Article 60(2) of the Rome Statute, the judges said they are compelled to grant the defense’s request until further action is taken, or until the chamber deems it appropriate.

“To ensure that a decision on the interim release request is appropriately informed, the majority considers it appropriate, in the circumstances, to defer the issuance of its decision on the interim release request,” the decision read.

The chamber clarified that this ruling “shall not be construed as prejudging any matter to be determined in the context of the proceedings related to the interim release request, including in its eventual decision thereon.”

Previously, in petitioning the court for Duterte’s temporary liberty, Kaufman invoked humanitarian reasons as “compelling grounds” to grant the request, citing the former leader’s advanced age of 80.

The British-Israeli lawyer assured the ICC that an unnamed country had already agreed to host Duterte in case the court ruled in his favor, provided he met all requirements set by the court — including that he is not a flight risk, will not obstruct investigations, and is unlikely to reoffend.

The defense’s request for the ICC to defer its decision on their interim release bid was heavily redacted but asserted that the suspension was necessary “until such time as the defence has assembled all information necessary.”

ICC prosecutors and the legal counsel representing victims of the drug war opposed Duterte's interim release, arguing that continued detention is necessary to ensure he does not pose a threat to victims and families affected by the campaign.

Duterte, who is facing a single charge of crimes against humanity over his bloody war on drugs, has been detained at Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands, since his arrest on 11 March in Manila. He will remain in the ICC’s custody while awaiting the confirmation of charges on 23 September.

The government recorded more than 6,000 drug-related deaths during Duterte’s presidency, though rights watchdogs estimate the real death toll could exceed 30,000, mostly from low-income communities.

ICC records also include summary killings committed since November 2011, when Duterte was mayor of Davao City.

Duterte’s legal team continues to challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction, citing the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the court’s founding treaty, in March 2019.

However, the ICC maintains that it retains jurisdiction over crimes committed before the withdrawal, stressing that the preliminary examination had already begun before the country exited the treaty.