Duterte ICC trial: Confidentiality issues to be sorted in next hearing

MANILA, Philippines — Parties and participants in the trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court (ICC) will address how confidential information will be handled, among other issues, during the next status conference this month.

In an order dated June 18, the Trial Chamber (TC) III of the International Criminal Court (ICC) set the agenda for the second status conference on June 23, which can be streamed via the tribunal’s website.

Among the issues to be discussed by the prosecution, defense, and the legal representatives of victims are: adoption of a protocol on handling confidential information, setting the deadlines for the filing of observations to the medical experts’ reports; dates for the next status conference, and the page limit of the prosecution’s trial brief.

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READ: ICC: Prosecution in Duterte ICC trial has until July 1 to submit evidence

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Without identifying the lawyer, the TC III also listed “public statements made by counsel” as one of the agenda items as well.

There will be a total of three status conferences for the trial of Duterte, which is slated to begin on Nov. 30. This series of hearings is required to inform the chamber of the details and facts of the case and to ensure adequate preparation for the full-blown trial.

Duterte is charged with three counts of murder as a crime against humanity for being an indirect co-perpetrator in a brutal campaign he waged that led to tens of thousands of killings.

He remains detained in the Scheveningen prison complex in The Hague, the Netherlands, as further assessment by court-appointed medical specialists is underway.

The findings of the three-member expert panel, expected to be submitted by August, will determine the adjustments and measures the ICC will undertake to accommodate Duterte’s condition, whose attendance as an accused is mandatory. /mr

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