ICC chamber cancels Duterte status review

A trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has canceled the third status conference that was set for next week for the trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte, as all parties and participants to the case did not raise any issue that needs urgent resolution.

In a statement on Friday, the ICC said that the Trial Chamber III will not push through with holding the scheduled hearing on July 14 because the defense, prosecution and the legal representatives of victims have declared that “they do not have specific matters which require attention at this stage of the proceedings.”

The trial chamber, presided by Judge Joanna Korner, however, set the next status conference on Sept. 16, just a little over two months before the trial for charges of crimes against humanity against Duterte begins.

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Duterte is charged with three counts of crimes against humanity of murder in connection with the so-called drug war he waged as mayor and later as president. He has been held in the Scheveningen prison complex since his arrest and surrender to the ICC in March last year.

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Medical assessment

The chamber earlier told Duterte’s lawyers that the detained leader’s presence in the courtroom is expected in the next hearing in September, unless assessment of the court-appointed doctors finds medical issues.

The chamber tapped a three-member expert panel, composed of experts in geriatric and behavioral neurology, forensic psychiatry and neuropsychology, to determine whether Duterte is capable of exercising his rights to a fair trial.

This was in response to the request by the defense, now led by British barrister Peter Haynes, to conduct a new round of review into the ex-President’s condition. INQ

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