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Who are the defense, prosecution lawyers in Duterte's ICC case?
The progress of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) ground to a halt, at least for now, after the tribunal’s Pre-Trial Chamber I allowed a limited adjournment of his confirmation of charges hearing.
The judges came to the decision following a request from Duterte’s lawyers to indefinitely postpone the proceedings, underscoring the critical function of legal counsels in mapping out strategies and counter-strategies in high-profile legal battles.
On one hand is the Prosecution from the ICC, and the Defense on the other. What are their roles within the context of The Hague-based tribunal?
Performing an independent and impartial evaluation, the Office of the Prosecution examines a situation under the jurisdiction of the Court where genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression may have been committed, and conduct investigations and prosecutions against the alleged accused.
It is headed by the Prosecutor, who is elected for a non-renewable term of nine years by the Assembly of States Parties, the Court’s legislative and oversight body.
Meanwhile, the Defense team represents and protects the rights of the accused. They are not part of the ICC personnel and exercise their duties with complete independence according to Code of Professional Conduct for counsel practicing before the Court.
The appointed counsel is responsible for forming his team, which includes selecting the associate counsel, legal assistants, case-managers, resource persons, and professional investigation.
When an accused wants to appoint his own lawyer, the Registry of the Court facilitates the process and provides eligible counsel.
Those interested in representing a defendant must be on the List of Counsel, which currently has over 400 lawyers from across the globe.
The Chamber can also appoint a lawyer for the defendant, like an ad hoc counsel, to present the general interest of the defense.
Find out more about the prosecution and defense team in Duterte’s case below:
PROSECUTION
Mame Mandiaye Niang
ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang serves as the lead prosecutor in Duterte’s case.
Sworn as deputy prosecutor on March 22, Niang graduated from the National School of Administration and Magistracy in Dakar, Senegal.
In the same country, Niang became prosecutor general of the Appeals Court of Saint Louis, director of Criminal Affairs and Pardons at the Ministry of Justice, junior judge at the Senegalese Supreme Court Prosecutor General’s Office, and trial attorney and magistrate at the Regional Tribunal of Dakar.
He also served as senior Legal officer, chief of Staff of the Registrar at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
Niang was appointed regional representative for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Southern Africa, covering Southern African Development Community countries.
He worked as a judge at the Appeals Chamber of ICTR and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Niang was a visiting lecturer in institutions like the National School for Social Workers and Specialized Educators and the Judicial Training Center of Dakar in Senegal, the University of Rwanda, and the Institute of International Law at Makerere University, Uganda.
He is also a member of the Senegalese Magistrates' Union and the Senegalese Section of the International Association of Criminal Law.
The Senegalese Magistrates' Union is an association of judicial officers in Senegal that advocates judicial independence, the rights and ethical protection of magistrates, and proper working conditions.
Meanwhile, the Senegalese Section of the International Association of Criminal Law is an organization of legal professionals in the country dedicated to criminal law and international criminal justice.
DEFENSE
Nicholas Kaufman
On March 18, the ICC announced that British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman was appointed as the lead defense counsel of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Kaufman completed a law degree at the University of Cambridge and became a defense lawyer in Birmingham, England.
In 1996, Kaufman began working as a prosecutor in the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
He then became a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague in 2003, where Serbian and Montenegrin generals were convicted for war crimes related to the attack on Dubrovnik in 1991.
Kaufman was also the legal representative for Darfuri victims in relation to the ICC case against former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who faced charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur since July 2002.
Dov Jacobs
On April 7, the ICC announced that Dov Jacobs was named Duterte’s associate counsel.
He earned his law degree at King’s College in London, Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and Paris II Panthéon Assas in France.
Jacobs obtained a degree in political science from Sciences Po in Paris, France and completed his doctorate at the European University Institute in Florence, France, focusing on hybrid tribunals and international criminal law.
He founded the Strategic International Legal Consulting, a law firm that provides consultancy and training services in International Law, International Criminal Law, and Human Rights.
Jacobs is also a part of the Leiden Journal of International Law editorial board at Cambridge University.
Aside from Duterte, Jacobs is also on the defense team of Seleka commander Mahamat Said, who was arrested in 2019 for alleged crimes against humanity.
Common legal representative for victims
The ICC may ask victims to choose a common legal representative whenever there are many victims for efficient proceedings. It can be a single representative or a team.
Should the victims fail to appoint common legal representation, the ICC Registrar may do so upon the judges’ request. If the victims are displeased with the appointed lawyer/s, however, they may request the judges to review it.
In an interview with reporters on September 8 this year, ICC Assistant to Counsel Atty. Kristina Conti said no common legal representative of the victims has been appointed yet since the victims’ applications are still being processed.
"We're expecting that within the next few weeks and hopefully before September 23, a common legal representative will be identified," Conti said in Filipino, referring to the originally scheduled date of Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing that was eventually postponed.
Conti explained that the victims will nominate common legal representatives, whose applications will be assessed.
"The names nominated by the victims in their application forms will be screened and processed by the registry to determine who the victims are selecting as their representative," Conti said.
Filipino representation
Conti said that whoever is selected as the common legal representative should be able to understand the victims.
"As mentioned in the report of the Victims Participation and Reparations Unit or VPRS, many of the victims are asking for a lawyer who can understand them when they are speaking or explaining their side," Conti said.
"It initially appears that, hopefully, a Filipino lawyer can be part of the case," she added.
In a message to GMA News Online, Conti said she can serve as a common legal representative to the alleged drug war victims.
"Technically, counsels and assistants to counsels are ‘free agents.’ They are accredited or registered so that they can appear in the court. Any lawyer in the world who qualifies can be registered, and there are some 1,500 in total. We are not part of the court at present," Conti said.
"So, yes we could be appointed in a case. And especially since I have been assisting victims, the court can appoint me as part of the team. The main LRV (legal representative) is a counsel, and that counsel can appoint me to assist the team," she added.
Who is Kristina Conti?
Based in Manila, Conti has been a voice in the ongoing discourse regarding Duterte’s ICC case.
ICC Assistants to Counsel such as Conti provide legal research and assist in the preparation and presentation of arguments to ensure effective representation of clients.
To qualify as an ICC Assistant to Counsel, he or she must be a lawyer with five years of relevant experience in criminal proceedings, possess specific competence in international or criminal law and procedure.
Conti finished journalism and later earned her law degree at the University of the Philippines.
From 2016 to 2023, Conti served as an associate at the Public Interest Law Center, where she gave legal support for marginalized communities and political prisoners.
She is the secretary-general of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) - National Capital Region, which has asked the ICC to look into the drug war.
She is a member of the Manlaban sa EJK, an alliance that coordinates legal challenges to extrajudicial killing and other human rights violations under the Duterte administration.
Conti is also a part of the Concerned Lawyers for Civil Liberties, a network of lawyers opposed to violations of people’s civil liberties and constitutional rights.
She serves as treasurer of the Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific, an organization that promotes peace and people’s lawyering, human rights, and self-determination of the peoples of the region.
In 2014, Conti handled the case of the late Andrea Rosal, a former political prisoner and daughter of the late rebel spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal.
Andrea was pregnant during her arrest and gave birth while in detention. Her baby died two days later, while she spent 18 months in detention before the charges of kidnapping and murder against her were dismissed.
Conti was also part of the legal team of the mothers of university students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, who disappeared in 2006.
The case eventually led to the conviction of retired Major General Jovito Palparan for kidnapping and serious illegal detention of the two students.
In 2024, Conti became a Fisher Family Summer Fellow at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, in which she attended a three-week on-campus forum for civil society leaders where she received academic and policy training.
The following year, Conti was the fifth nominee of the Bayan Muna party-list during the 2025 Philippine election.
ICC disqualifies Khan from Duterte case
The ICC appeals judges have disqualified Karim A. A. Khan KC, the original lead prosecutor in Duterte's case, from the proceedings due to a possible conflict of interest.
This developed after Duterte’s defense sought to disqualify Khan in August, because he represented the Philippines Human Rights Commission (PHRC) in naming the former president as a top suspect in the drug war.
Khan previously took a leave after the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services launched its investigation on his alleged sexual misconduct.
This led Niang and Nazhat Shameem Khan to assume leadership, management, and administration of the prosecutor's office.
“With regard to the Situation in the Philippines, Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang retains leadership over this situation and the case against Mr Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” ICC said in a statement sent to GMA News Online.
“The Office of the Prosecutor reaffirms its commitment to the continued effective implementation of its mandate to deliver justice for victims of Rome Statute crimes, across all situations and cases globally,” it added.
In a Viber messenger, Conti said the prosecution team will be from officials or lawyers inside the ICC court.
“Niang will step up as deputy. The prosecutorial team will be from officials/lawyers inside the court,” Conti told GMA News Online.
“Victims can be represented by external counsel parang private prosecutors sa PH cases (just like private prosecutors in Philippine cases),” she added.
Victims’ voices
A total of 303 drug war victims sought to participate in the pre-trial proceedings against Duterte.
On September 8, the ICC postponed Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing scheduled on September 23, after his camp said that he was "not fit to stand trial."
The defense team said the former president is unable to recall events, places, timing, and even members of his close family.
Duterte was arrested on March 11 for his alleged crimes against humanity 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 drug war, but human rights organizations reported that the death toll may have reached 30,000 due to unreported incidents.
Three ICC female judges signed Duterte’s warrant of arrest. They are Judge Iulia Motoc, Reine Alapini-Gansou, and Maria del Socorro Flores Liera. — VDV/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
