ICC denies Duterte bid to ask anew for disclosure of comms between ICC registry, experts

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected a request for leave filed by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyers to appeal the court’s earlier denial of his bid to disclose the communications between the ICC registry and the panel of experts assessing his fitness to stand trial.

In a five-page document dated January 9, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I dismissed the request of Duterte’s legal counsel to be allowed to appeal the court’s December 11 ruling.

The previous ruling said the disclosure of the communications between the ICC registry and the three-member expert panel is not warranted and that Duterte’s camp already has all the necessary information regarding the registry’s interactions with the panel.

On December 17, Duterte’s lawyers filed the request for leave to appeal this decision, claiming that the Pre-Trial Chamber I “erred by failing to assess the materiality of the requested information to the preparation of the defence or the risks, if any, posed to the investigation or witnesses,” or the proposed issue.

In its latest decision, the ICC noted that in the request, the defense, to a large extent, “only repeats or develops arguments in an attempt to relitigate issues that have been addressed in the decision on disclosure of communications.”

This includes “whether granting the defence’s access to the information sought in the request for disclosure of communications is warranted.”

The Pre-Trial Chamber I added that the defense “further misrepresents” the denial of the request to disclose communications.

“The chamber recalls that its conclusion that ‘the defence has before it all the necessary information regarding the registry’s interactions with the experts’ was not only based on the fact that, in their reports, ‘the experts consistently refer to the chamber’s instructions’, but also to the ‘relevant materials that have guided them in the preparation of their reports,’” it said.

“In light of the above, the chamber considers that the request misconstrues the decision on disclosure of communications and that the proposed issue does not arise out of that decision. Therefore, the proposed issue does not constitute an appealable issue,” the ICC added.

Previously, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I denied Duterte’s request for the disclosure of communications between the ICC registry and the panel of experts assessing his medical fitness as the defense already has all necessary information regarding the registry’s interaction with the experts.

It pointed out that since the ICC registry is a neutral organ of the ICC whose main role in the case is to liaise and transmit the chamber’s instructions to the experts, the disclosure of all communication is not warranted “without further substantiation” from the defense.

Earlier, the ICC ordered the panel of experts to conduct a medical examination on Duterte to determine his fitness to stand trial. The 80-year-old former President is presently detained at The Hague penitentiary institution.

This was amid his camp’s claims that he is not to stand trial due to cognitive impairment and that he is unable to recall events, places, and even members of his own family.

The panel of experts submitted its findings in early December, with the ICC Office of the Prosecutor pointing out that Duterte was found to be able to fully engage and participate in the proceedings against him.

Meanwhile, the Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) asked the ICC to rule on Duterte’s fitness. The OPCV also requested the court to set the date for the confirmation of charges hearing “without further delay” in light of the drug war victims’ right to a speedy trial.

On January 9, Duterte’s lawyer submitted a joint report prepared by their own medical experts to support their assertion that his condition has further deteriorated and warrants his release from detention.

Duterte is facing 49 incidents of murder and attempted murder in connection with his war on illegal drugs – which left 6,200 drug suspects dead — during his term as Davao City mayor and later as President. — JMA, GMA Integrated News