International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors were granted access to materials seized from former President Rodrigo Duterte upon his arrest but were denied a request to examine all the keys found among his belongings, according to a court decision released on 3 July.

The ruling, issued by Trial Chamber III composed of Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Keebong Paek and Judge Nicolas Guillou, came in response to the prosecution’s second request for materials in the Registry’s custody.

It approved access to two categories of redacted materials that were in Duterte’s possession at the time of his arrest, finding “reasonable grounds to believe that the examination of these materials would produce evidence that is necessary for the investigation.”

The judges determined that such examination was “necessary and proportionate to the legitimate investigative needs.”

But the tribunal rejected the prosecution’s request for access to all the keys held by the Registry, noting that the prosecution failed to specify which items the keys related to or how they could provide relevant evidence.

The Chamber also considered defense arguments that the keys were “seized while he was traveling with members of his family,” making it “entirely possible that the keys provide access to material belonging to, or concerning, his relatives.”

The judges found the requested access to the keys “neither necessary nor proportionate.”

The Chamber in its decision, ordered the Registry to transmit the approved redacted materials to the prosecution by 24 June.

End of Nov start of trial

Prosecutors must file any additional requests for access to Registry materials by 30 June, a deadline the Chamber imposed after noting the prosecution’s acknowledgment of delays in submitting the current request.

The ruling emerged as Trial Chamber III prepares for Duterte’s trial, scheduled to open on 30 November 2026.

Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity for murder and attempted murder stemming from his administration’s “war on drugs” campaign between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.

All charges against Duterte were confirmed by the ICC on 23 April 2026, and he was committed to trial following a confirmation-of-charges hearing held from 23 to 27 February 2026.

Also, the Appeals Chamber upheld the Court’s jurisdiction over the case on 22 April 2026, rejecting defense’s arguments that the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019 barred ICC proceedings.