MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecution office said it expects to complete all pre-trial preparations in the case against former president Rodrigo Duterte by Sept. 30, 2026 — a timetable that could make the proceedings one of the fastest cases in the court’s history to reach trial after confirmation of charges.
In a filing submitted to Trial Chamber III, prosecutors proposed that trial proceedings begin on Nov. 30, 2026, giving the court only a two-month window between the completion of disclosure obligations and opening statements.
The Office of the Prosecutor said the compressed schedule would place the Duterte case among the ICC’s quickest transitions from charge confirmation to trial.
“With the exception of the Al Mahdi case, which was subject to a plea agreement, the proposed timeframe would result in this being one of the fastest cases to go to trial following the decision on the confirmation of charges,” prosecutors wrote.
The prosecution was referring to the case of Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, a member of the extremist group Ansar Eddine linked to al Qaeda, who admitted guilt over the destruction of cultural heritage sites in Timbuktu, Mali, a Unesco World Heritage site.
After charges were confirmed in March 2016, Al Mahdi’s trial both opened and concluded within three days in August that year. The ICC handed down its judgment and a nine-year prison sentence on Sept. 27, 2016.
The case moved swiftly largely because Al Mahdi entered a formal guilty plea — the first such admission before the ICC since the court was established in 2002 — allowing judges to proceed directly to sentencing without a prolonged evidentiary trial.
Duterte, however, has not indicated any intention to plead guilty. He faces crimes against humanity charges tied to killings linked to his administration’s “war on drugs,” which prosecutors allege formed part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians.
In its latest filing — a public redacted version of submissions prepared for the upcoming status conference on May 27 — the prosecution laid out an ambitious schedule aimed at completing witness identity disclosures, transcriptions, translations, expert reports, and the bulk of evidence disclosure by the end of September 2026.
Prosecutors said the accelerated pace was necessary to “prevent problems arising during the trial which could cause delay.”
