The International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC-I) has rejected a request by the camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte to compel the disclosure of all communications between the court’s Registry and the independent panel of medical experts tasked to assess his fitness to stand trial.
In a unanimous ruling, the chamber said, “There is no reason that would warrant granting the request,” stressing that the defense already had access to all relevant information regarding the Registry’s interactions with the experts before it filed its observations on 12 December.
“For these reasons, the chamber hereby rejects the request,” read the five-page decision dated 23 December and released on Tuesday, 6 January.
The ruling followed the submission of medical reports concluding that Duterte, now 80, is fit to undergo trial despite claims by his lawyers that he is suffering from debilitating cognitive impairment.
His lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, had argued that Duterte’s condition prevented him from meaningfully participating in his defense and has repeatedly cited his age and alleged frail health in seeking his interim release — requests that were twice denied by both the PTC-I and the Appeals Chamber.
ICC records showed that the Registry submitted individual and joint medical reports to the chamber on 5 December.
Five days later, the defense sought access to all correspondence, including emails and notes from phone calls, between the Registry and the panel of experts. The defense claimed its entitlement to these materials under provisions of the Rome Statute.
The chamber rejected this, noting that the Registry is a neutral organ whose role was limited to transmitting the chamber’s instructions to the experts, and that the defense had already been given full access to the materials provided to the panel prior to the release of the assessment on 19 December.
Kaufman has challenged the findings, claiming internal inconsistencies among the experts’ conclusions and insisting on an evidentiary hearing to cross-examine them.
Meanwhile, Duterte’s camp has asked the Supreme Court of the Philippines to rule on the legality of his arrest and detention despite his transfer to The Hague, Netherlands.
Former Palace spokesperson Harry Roque, representing Davao City Representative Paolo Z. Duterte, submitted a memorandum in connection with consolidated habeas corpus petitions filed by the Duterte siblings.
Roque argued that Duterte’s physical surrender to the ICC did not render the cases in the SC moot, insisting that the deprivation of liberty is ongoing and warrants judicial review.
He maintained that the Philippines’ 2019 withdrawal from the Rome Statute extinguished any obligation to cooperate with the ICC, making Duterte’s arrest and surrender unconstitutional.