British barrister Peter Haynes takes over Duterte ICC defense

Former President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed British barrister Peter Haynes as lead counsel for the trial phase of his crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC), replacing Nicholas Kaufman whose contract ended on 31 March.

In a withdrawal request filed before Trial Chamber III on 8 May, Kaufman said Duterte formally released him from representation during a visit to the ICC detention center in The Hague on 7 May.

The filing, initially classified as confidential, was made public on Tuesday, 12 May, after judges ordered it unredacted.

According to the filing, Duterte named Haynes as his preferred replacement. Kaufman said the British lawyer had confirmed he was “ready, willing and able” to immediately assume representation and would attend the 27 May status conference.

Haynes is known for securing one of the few acquittals in ICC history. He served as lead counsel for former Democratic Republic of Congo vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity was overturned by the ICC Appeals Chamber in 2018.

The appeals court ruled in a split 3-2 decision that trial judges had erred in assessing Bemba’s responsibility as a remote commander and had convicted him for acts beyond the scope of the original charges.

The acquittal led to Bemba’s release from detention and reversed what had been the ICC’s only conviction for rape as both a war crime and a crime against humanity at the time.

A King’s Counsel from St Philips Chambers in Birmingham, Haynes has more than three decades of legal experience and has appeared before international tribunals including the ICC, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

He also served two terms as president of the International Criminal Court Bar Association beginning in 2019, becoming the first lawyer re-elected to the post.

In 2024, the ICC appointed Haynes to represent fugitive Lord’s Resistance Army commander Joseph Kony during the court’s first confirmation of charges hearing conducted in absentia.

Kaufman, in his filing, expressed confidence that Duterte’s defense would remain stable under Haynes, citing the incoming counsel’s experience before the ICC and the continuity provided by the existing legal team.

The change in legal representation comes weeks after ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I unanimously confirmed three counts of crimes against humanity against Duterte on 23 April and committed the case to trial.

Judges said there were substantial grounds to believe the former president played a central role in the murder of 76 people and the attempted murder of two others linked to his administration’s anti-drug campaign.

Trial Chamber III, composed of Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Keebong Paek, and Judge Nicolas Guillou, is expected to determine the start of the trial following the 27 May status conference.

Official police figures place the death toll from Duterte’s war on drugs at around 6,000, while human rights organizations estimate the number could reach as high as 30,000.