THE National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) said proposed sanctions by the US on the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not affect the trial of former Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte for crimes against humanity in relation to his war on drugs campaign.
In a statement issued by NUPL, former Party-list Rep. Neri J. Colmenares and human rights lawyer Maria Kristina Conti said the ICC will not immediately shut down following the US-imposed sanctions and will not automatically release Mr. Duterte upon pressure from the US and President Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Colmenares and Ms. Conti highlighted that the court is not supported by US taxpayer money and is neither hosted nor based on US soil.
“The ICC is a consent- and rules-based tribunal that forwards one of the foundations of the international legal order: there must be accountability for grave crimes,” Mr. Colmenares and Ms. Conti said.
“It cannot bow down to the wishes of the few, and more so, to the whims of the small-minded,” they added.
Mr. Colmenares and Ms. Conti said the proceedings will not be impacted by the sanctions, noting that Mr. Duterte’s case moves on to the trial stage by the end of November. Mr. Duterte is expected to be kept in detention pending the decision on his fitness to stand trial.
They also said there is indirect danger if the measures paralyze operations in institutional or personal transaction, noting that 11 ICC officials, including nine judges, already have serious issues with finances and communications after the sanctions caused individual personal assets within US jurisdictions to be frozen, access to US-linked financial and software services being restricted, and individuals to be barred from entering the US.
They highlighted that there is a guarantee of legal accountability, noting that Mr. Trump’s plea for any of the 125 member states to withdraw from the ICC will only take effect after a year of formal notice and that Mr. Duterte’s case will be resolved sooner should the ICC dissolve.
“We urge the state-parties and even non-state parties of the ICC to use ‘blocking statutes’ to obstruct the extra-territorial effects of unreasonable foreign legislation,” Mr. Colmenares and Ms. Conti said.
Victims of Mr. Duterte’s war on drugs have called on Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and his administration to stand with humanity and against impunity and injustice, emphasizing that dismantling the ICC only benefits tyrants, mass murderers, and war criminals.
Mr. Duterte’s trial is set to begin on Nov. 30. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza