ICC declares Duterte ‘fit’ to stand trial; hearing set for 23 February

After months of speculation, the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday finally put to rest debates on whether former president Rodrigo Duterte is “fit” to stand trial by ruling in the affirmative.

The decision clears the way for the confirmation of charges hearing, now scheduled for 23 February, after being postponed for four months. The ICC, however, has yet to decide whether it will require the 80-year-old former president to physically appear in court during the pre-trial hearing.

The confirmation of charges hearing is a crucial phase in ICC proceedings. This is where judges decide whether the case against an accused has enough merit to proceed to a full trial. A case may also be dismissed at this early stage if judges find insufficient evidence from prosecutors.

Duterte’s lawyers earlier petitioned the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) to indefinitely postpone the confirmation of charges hearing, initially scheduled for 23 September last year, citing the former president’s alleged debilitating cognitive impairment and advanced age, which they said could jeopardize their defense.

The petition, along with other submissions seeking Duterte’s temporary release from detention in The Hague, triggered concerns among prosecutors and the counsel of drug war victims, who criticized the moves as a veiled attempt to delay the trial.

The PTC, however, found that Duterte remains fit to stand trial despite recent submissions by his lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, who said the former president is “emanciated, infirm and incapacitated” to participate in the proceedings.

According to Kaufman, new findings prepared by medical experts hired by the defense would support claims that Duterte is physically and mentally too weak to evade prosecution should he be granted temporary release by the court.

The PTC’s decision, however, corroborated the December findings of an independent medical expert appointed by the court to assess Duterte’s health condition.

Kaufman raised strong objections to the findings, asserting that each member of the three-member medical panel “reached his conclusions stridently [in] conflict with those of the others.”

Kaufman claimed that Duterte’s debilitating condition and cognitive state make him incapable of meeting the risk factors under Article 58(1)(b) of the Rome Statute, which outline the grounds for continued detention.

“Having regard to the relevant legal principles, the medical assessment of the independent experts composing the panel, and all of the relevant circumstances of the case, the chamber was satisfied that Mr Duterte is able effectively to exercise his procedural rights and is therefore fit to take part in the pre-trial proceedings, which are thereby resumed,” the chamber said.

The ICC said an order setting the schedule and directions for the confirmation of charges hearing will be issued in due course, including instructions on measures recommended in the medical reports to facilitate Duterte’s participation.

“The purpose of such hearing is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged,” it said.

“If one or more of the charges are confirmed, the case will be transferred to a Trial Chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial.”

Practical information, including how to attend or watch the proceedings, will be provided closer to the date of the hearing, the chamber added.

Duterte has been detained in ICC custody since his arrest on March 11 in Manila.

He faces three counts of murder as crimes against humanity linked to his war on drugs, which resulted in more than 6,000 deaths based on government data, although human rights groups estimate the toll exceeded 30,000, most of them from low-income communities.