SC aspirant: Duterte can withdraw PHL from ICC on his own

An aspirant to a vacant Supreme Court associate justice's seat believes President Rodrigo Duterte can unilaterally withdraw the country's membership from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Interviewed by the Judicial and Bar Council on Thursday, lawyer and mediator Rita Linda Jimeno answered in the affirmative when asked if the president can apply the doctrine of "rebus sic stantibus" to unilaterally withdraw from a treaty.

"Yes, Your Honor, because under that principle, if there are substantial changes in the circumstances which would then completely change what was agreed upon, then the president may withdraw from a treaty that was earlier signed by him and even affirmed or ratified by the Senate," Jimeno said.

The principle of "rebus sic stantibus" allows for a treaty to become inapplicable if there has been a substantial change in the circumstances upon which it was founded.

In withdrawing the Philippines from the ICC, Duterte cited as reason the "baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks" against him by United Nations officials, as well as the attempt by the international court to place him within its jurisdiction, in an alleged violation of his right to due process and presumption of innocence.

Currently pending before the High Court are consolidated petitions assailing Duterte's decision to pull the country out of the ICC, a war crimes court, because the move was not approved by the Senate.

The Constitution requires the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate for a treaty to be "valid and effective," but it is silent on whether or not a withdrawal is bound by the same rule.

Particularly referring to the case of the intended withdrawal from the ICC, Jimeno said the executive can do so under the rebus sic stantibus doctrine even without Senate concurrence.

Jimeno is one of 12 applicants vying for the associate justice post vacated by retired Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, who was appointed chief justice last August.

Jimeno is only one of three candidates who are not incumbent justices of the Court of Appeals.

A calmer Supreme Court?

Meanwhile, Jimeno said she would describe the current state of the Supreme Court, post-Corona impeachment and post-Sereno ouster, as "more stable."

"Compared to how it was before, it is now more stable and more calm in the eyes of the public because there are no longer disputes questioning the appropriateness or propriety of one justice sitting as a justice of the Supreme Court," she said.

She said the strength of the Court is its resilience, claiming it had withstood a "series of crises" while maintaining its integrity and completing its work in the "most sober manner."

She also said she did not think the Court could be swayed by whims and caprices.

The other candidates for the De Castro vacancy are Sandiganbayan justice Alex Quiroz, CA justices Oscar Badelles, Manuel Barrios, Apolinario Bruselas, Jr., Rosmari Carandang, Stephen Cruz, Edgardo delos Santos, Japar Dimaampao, Ramon D.R. Garcia, Amy Lazaro-Javier, and former Ateneo Law School dean Cesar Villanueva.

Only Jimeno and Quiroz were interviewed on Thursday, as the previous interviews of the other contenders are still considered valid.

Jimeno, a University of the Philippines law graduate, is managing partner at the Jimeno Cope & David Law Offices, the associate dean of the Centro Escolar University law school, and is a Supreme Court-accredited mediator.

She said Thursday that she has handled "many complex cases"  and has dealt with civil, criminal, intra-corporate, labor, estate settlement cases and commercial disputes. — MDM, GMA News