The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I has postponed the confirmation of charges hearing for former President Rodrigo Duterte, following a request from his defense team asserting that he is “not fit to stand trial.”
Originally scheduled for September 23 to 26, the hearing was vacated by a majority decision of the Chamber, as stated in a five-page ruling dated September 8 and signed by Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc and Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera.
Judge Flores Liera dissented.
The Chamber cited an August 18 motion filed by Duterte’s defense team, which sought an indefinite adjournment of proceedings because the former president “is not fit to stand trial”.
In response, the judges ruled to suspend all procedural timelines and postpone the hearing “until further notice,” emphasizing that the delay would be “strictly necessary” to assess Duterte’s fitness to engage in the pre-trial process.
This assessment is vital, as the confirmation hearing determines whether the case—centered on crimes against humanity, including murder—will proceed to full trial.
Judge Flores Liera, in her dissenting opinion, opposed the postponement. She argued that evaluating a suspect’s fitness falls under the jurisdiction of the Trial Chamber, not the Pre-Trial Chamber.
“Any determination regarding the suspect’s fitness might affect the proceedings only after the confirmation of charges hearing has been held,” she wrote.
Duterte, who has been detained in The Hague since his initial ICC appearance last March, faces charges for allegedly orchestrating a deadly anti-drug campaign that claimed thousands of lives, many from impoverished communities. (Raymund Antonio)
