ICC confirms jurisdiction over Duterte case despite PH withdrawal

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed its jurisdiction over the case against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, rejecting arguments from his legal team that the Court no longer has authority following the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

In a ruling issued on 23 October 2025, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I Judges Iulia Antoanella Motoc, Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, and María del Socorro Flores Liera dismissed the defense’s claim that the ICC could not investigate Duterte’s controversial war on drugs because the probe was formally authorized only in September 2021, two years after the Philippines’ withdrawal from the treaty took effect.

The judges emphasized that the ICC’s jurisdictional framework remains applicable to cases involving crimes committed while a state was still a member of the Statute.

Citing Article 127(2) of the Rome Statute, they said a withdrawal “shall not… prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective.”

They also noted that no provision in the Statute limits how long the ICC can exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed before a withdrawal takes effect.

Article 127(2), they said, explicitly allows the Court to proceed with matters that were already being examined before a state’s exit became official.

Duterte’s legal team had argued that a preliminary examination did not constitute a “matter under consideration,” describing it as an informal and non-justiciable process.

The judges disagreed, ruling that the phrase “any matter” in Article 127(2) is broad and “not limited to a specific phase of the proceedings.” Therefore, they concluded, the preliminary examination falls within the scope of the Court’s ongoing jurisdiction.

The ICC’s latest decision, however, does not address Duterte’s separate motion to halt the proceedings, in which his camp claims that the former president is unfit to stand trial.