The International Criminal Court (ICC) Registry has submitted a proposed set of digital workflow procedures and redaction rules that would govern the handling of filings and sensitive materials in the case involving former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

In a six-page document, the submission outlines a secured digital system intended to manage how documents—ranging from evidence submissions to pleadings and supporting materials—would be processed throughout the proceedings, subject to the court’s approval and application of the framework.

On 27 May, Presiding Judge Joanna Korner issued an oral directive during the First Status Conference requiring all parties to file their proposed recommendations for the trial framework by Friday, 5 June.

Under the proposal, all filings would be routed through a standardised electronic platform designed to replace or supplement traditional paper-based exchanges. 

The system is intended to regulate how documents are submitted, transmitted, and recorded among the prosecution, defence, Registry officials, and judges, with the aim of ensuring consistency, security, and traceability in case management.

To safeguard confidential information during live testimonies, the Registry urged Trial Chamber III to impose a stringent timeline for the censorship of the public broadcast feed.

“The Registry requests that such submissions be made as promptly as possible, and in any event no later than 12 minutes after the information was revealed. The parties and participants should then have 4 minutes to raise any objections," the document read.

It likewise proposed digital workflow on how case materials would move through the ICC system in a controlled electronic environment, with safeguards intended to prevent unauthorised disclosure while maintaining an auditable trail of submissions and revisions.

The Registry said “this ensures that “the record of the case may be maintained within a single, consolidated, and comprehensive platform, thereby facilitating the work of all relevant actors.” 

For the standard documentation and public release of trial records, the Registry encouraged the Chamber to consider procedures used in other high-profile international cases, particularly The Prosecutor v. Mahamat Said Abdel Kani.

On the production of edited public transcripts, the Registry said the Chamber may adopt the process developed by Trial Chamber VI in the same case, titled “Amended Procedure for Producing (Lesser) Public Redacted Versions of Transcripts,” which it described as a tested and effective best practice.

The Registry also noted that the verification mechanism used in that case had “consistently demonstrated its effectiveness in practice” and helped enable the timely correction of transcripts.

Ahead of the 5 June deadline, the Court Management Section conducted separate briefings on 3 June with Duterte’s defence counsel and the Legal Representatives of Victims to present the digital platform, followed by a distinct session with the prosecution on 4 June.

Further discussions are set to continue, with a final report on the integration of the technology expected to be submitted to the Chamber by 15 June.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I confirmed the charges against Duterte on 23 April, after which the ICC constituted Trial Chamber III on 28 April to hear the merits of the case.