British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman was officially out as lead counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte after the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday granted his request to withdraw from the defense team.

In a brief decision, the ICC Trial Chamber III said granting Kaufman’s request will not harm the proceedings against Duterte, as the trial proper has yet to begin.

“Having considered the present stage of the proceedings and the aforementioned factors, the chamber is of the view that no prejudice arises or inconvenience is caused by accepting Mr. Duterte’s withdrawal,” the decision reads.

Kaufman informed the court that his one-year contract had already expired on 31 March and was not renewed by Duterte’s family.

Nonetheless, they assured the chamber that another lawyer with a “wealth of experience” in international law would take over his post, and had already been informed of the transition.

His appointed counsel was also informed of pending deadlines and had already committed to attend the status conference on 27 May as part of the preparatory work for Duterte's upcoming trial.

Kaufman, however, has yet to disclose the identity of the new counsel.

In granting the motion, the chamber reminded Kaufman of his continuing obligations under the Code of Professional Conduct for counsel, as well as any confidentiality obligations under the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty.

Aside from Kaufman, Associate Counsel Dov Jacobs also withdrew as part of the defense last week, which the Trial Chamber III also granted.

The ICC appointed Kaufman as Duterte's chief counsel on 17 March, almost a week after he was arrested in Manila and surrendered to the ICC’s custody in The Hague, Netherlands.

Jacobs, meanwhile, joined the defense team on 7 April at the request of Kaufman.

Both Kaufman and Jacobs defended Duterte's notorious bloody war on drugs that drew global condemnation during the four-day confirmation of charges hearing in February.

In late April, the Pre-Trial Chamber I confirmed the crimes against humanity of murder against the 81-year-old former leader, stating that there are “substantial grounds” to believe that Duterte is criminally responsible for the alleged extrajudicial killings linked to the drug war.

This includes the killings of 78 individuals, including six children, allegedly suspected of drug dealings from 2013 to 2018, spanning his tenure as Davao mayor and as president.

It also covered the killings by the so-called Davao Death Squad, which was founded and headed by Duterte, as alleged by prosecutors.