ICC Appeals Chamber to rule on Duterte’s bid vs jurisdiction on April 22

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 22 will issue its decision on the appeal of former President Rodrigo Duterte against an earlier ruling that junked his challenge to the jurisdiction of the ICC.

In a three-page scheduling order dated April 2, the Appeals Chamber set the delivery of the judgement in open court on April 22 at 11:00 a.m. in The Hague, The Netherlands.

It may be viewed live on the ICC’s website as well as on the Facebook and Youtube accounts of the ICC.

The scheduling order was signed by Presiding Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of the ICC Appeals Chamber.

The ICC also released a media advisory on practical information on the April 22 delivery of judgment on Duterte’s appeal against the court’s jurisdiction.

On October 23, 2025, the ICC rejected Duterte’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the ICC amid the alleged crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder levelled against the former President over his war on illegal drugs.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I said it can “exercise its jurisdiction in the present case over the crimes alleged against Mr. Duterte that were committed on the territory of the Philippines while it was a State Party.”

Duterte’s legal team sought a reversal of this ruling and asked the ICC Appeals Chamber to find that there is no legal basis for the continuation of proceedings against the 81-year-old Duterte.

His lawyers also asked for Duterte’s immediate and unconditional release.

Duterte recently spent his 81st birthday – his second behind bars – at The Hague following his arrest in March 2025.

He skipped attending his confirmation of charges hearings during the last week of February this year for several reasons, but mainly because he does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction over him. — JMA, GMA News