ICC grants plea to extend deadline for filing notes on Duterte health report

MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III has granted the prosecution’s request to extend the deadline for the filing of observations on the expert report involving former President Rodrigo Duterte’s fitness for trial.

The chamber previously set the deadline for the parties’ filing of observations on the expert report on Aug. 31.

READ: ICC chamber orders new medical exam for Duterte ahead of November trial

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But during the second status conference on Duterte’s trial on Tuesday, Prosecutor Julian Nicholls requested the extension of the deadline after citing multiple other submissions on the same date.

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These submissions include their pre-trial brief, list of witnesses, and list of evidence.

“Really, what we’re asking for is one more week to file our observations. And then, of course, if necessary, another week for the defense and for our friends in the LRV (Legal Representative of Victims),” said Nichols.

“… and we can’t really start writing it early during that last week as well when we expect to be extremely busy, and depending on what the outcome is of the reports we receive on the 24th, it may or may not be quite a lot of work,” he noted.

“So, we’re just asking for one more week,” he added.

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Nichols also noted that a week’s extension is not expected to “slow things down substantially,” including the start of the trial which is on Nov. 30.

ICC Trial Chamber III Presiding Judge Joanna Korner granted the request.

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“It’s alright. We will be merciful … You may have the extra week,” said Korner.

Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity due to his administration’s war against illegal drugs, which reportedly killed at least 6,000 people based on government records, and over 30,000 based on human rights records, including children as young as 3-years-old. /apl

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