THE International Criminal Court (ICC) told lawyers Tuesday in the trial of former president Rodrigo Duterte to refrain from public commentary, stressing that all arguments must remain strictly within court proceedings.
“The chamber wishes to remind all counsel that they must not comment publicly or speculate outside court proceedings,” Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said during the second status conference of the case before ICC Trial Chamber III in The Hague.
Korner stressed that reporting on the proceedings must be accurate and free from misinformation.
“The proper forum for arguments is the courtroom, not public or media discourse,” she said.
The chamber noted that legal proceedings must not be influenced by external commentary, adding that strict observance of professional standards by both prosecution and defense teams is mandatory.
Korner cited prior concerns involving former defense counsel Nicolas Kaufman issuing public statements and media interviews.
The chamber noted that while the Pre-Trial Chamber had previously reminded Kaufman of his professional obligations of respect and courtesy toward the court, subsequent media appearances following key rulings had been viewed as inconsistent with those standards.
Korner said the episode illustrated the need for clearer and more comprehensive rules governing counsel’s engagement with the media, particularly in high-profile international criminal cases, adding that existing codes of conduct appeared to contain gaps that should be addressed.
The chamber indicated that more detailed guidance should be developed to regulate public communications by both prosecution and defense teams moving forward.
Duterte did not attend the second status conference after formally waiving his right to be present.
In a filing dated June 19, 2026, Duterte’s defense team informed Trial Chamber III that the 81-year-old accused opted to skip the procedural hearing and submitted a signed written waiver. The panel — composed of Korner together with Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and Nicolas Guillou — granted the request and ordered that the waiver be placed on record.
Under the waiver, Duterte instructed his lawyers to address all matters on the status conference agenda, including any additional issues that might arise during the hearing.
Separately, the ICC Registry submitted a revised E-Court Protocol following consultations with the parties on the court’s proposed digital evidence system.
The filing came after Trial Chamber III instructed the Registry to consult the prosecution, defense, and victims’ representatives on reforms to the handling of electronic evidence.
The Registry said all parties supported the use of the Judicial Workflow Platform (JWP) witness module, which would serve as a centralized database for witness information throughout the trial.
However, all sides raised concerns over the proposed E-binders module, which would require re-uploading evidence files into the system and maintaining parallel documentation processes. Parties described this as duplicative and potentially inefficient.
The defense requested further testing to ensure that metadata consistency between the new JWP system and the existing JEM platform would be maintained, warning that discrepancies could affect the integrity of case records.
Despite these reservations, the Registry submitted an amended protocol incorporating the agreed use of the JWP witness module while continuing to review concerns over the E-binders system.
The ICC had earlier proposed replacing the current JEM/Nuix system with the JWP for managing witness and evidence records, as part of broader digital modernization efforts ahead of Duterte’s trial, which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 30, 2026.
