ICC prosecutor Khan on Duterte bid to remove him from case: No grounds exist

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan said "no grounds exist" that would merit his removal from the case of former President Rodrigo Duterte before the court, and that he intends to lead the prosecution of the case.

"The Prosecutor files this Notification in order to advise PTC I (Pre-Trial Chamber 1) that the Prosecutor has carefully considered whether the circumstances summarised above give rise to any grounds for disqualification and that he does not consider that any grounds for disqualification currently exist," Khan said in a notification dated August 18 filed before the PTC.

"The Prosecutor notifies the PTC that the Prosecutor considers that there is no conflict of interest requiring him to seek to excuse himself from the situation in the Republic of the Philippines in accordance with rule 33," he added.

Khan's notification was in response to the request of Duterte's defense team to disqualify him on the ground that he "failed to disclose a grievous conflict of interest."

“This request to disqualify Mr. Khan is grounded in an irreconcilable conflict of interest arising out of his former [REDACTED] representation of [REDACTED] '[REDACTED] victims' of an alleged policy of extrajudicial drug-related killings in the Philippines and his subsequent role as Chief ICC Prosecutor, charged with overseeing a fair and impartial investigation of that very same policy of killing,” the document dated August 7 read.

Article 42(7) of the Rome Statute prohibits the Prosecutor from participating “in any matter in which [his] impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground."

''Given the imminence of the confirmation of charges hearing, presently scheduled for September 23, 2025, the defense respectfully requests that the Appeals Chamber swiftly adjudicate this request to ensure that Mr. Khan is precluded from further participation in, and contamination of, the present case,'' the defense team said.

Khan recalled that in JUne 2018, a legal team, which included him representing over 100 victims of the alleged extrajudicial killings in the country, filed a submission to former Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.  They requested her to ask the PTC "to open an investigation into the situation in the Philippines.

"The Prosecutor was not directly involved in investigations or interviewing any victim or witness, but participated pro bono in reviewing and presenting the submission to the then Prosecutor Bensouda. Mr Khan withdrew from the matter and ceased any involvement shortly thereafter," he said.

"The Prosecutor is not aware of any prior case in which the impartiality of the Prosecutor has been challenged on the basis of a prior involvement in an earlier stage of proceedings on behalf of one or more victims or a group representing the interests of victims," he added.

Khan continued, "However, by analogy with the similar cases discussed below, it is clear that the Prosecutor’s prior involvement in the situation in the Republic of the Philippines was not in a capacity by virtue of which his impartiality might reasonably be doubted and was not such that he could be expected to have formed an opinion of the case in question that, objectively, could adversely affect his impartiality."

Duterte was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on March 11 based on a warrant issued by the ICC.

He is currently detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague on crimes against humanity charges in connection with the killings under his war on drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and when he was president of the Philippines.

Government records showed that there were over 6,000 drug suspects killed in police operations during the previous administration's drug war. Human rights organizations, however, said that the death toll may have reached 30,000 due to unreported incidents.—LDF, GMA Integrated News