THE HAGUE, the Netherlands — Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyers have filed an appeal in a bid to prevent the Filipino ex-president’s crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court, The Hague-based tribunal said on Thursday. His defense team have appealed against the ICC’s decision last week to confirm the charges against Duterte for crimes allegedly committed during his “war on drugs,” which is believed to have led to the deaths of thousands of people. Prosecutors have charged the 81-year-old former Philippines strongman with three counts of crimes against humanity, accusing him of involvement in at least 76 killings linked to the crackdown. Following a weeklong hearing in February, the pretrial judges concluded there were substantial grounds to believe that Duterte had been behind those murders.
According to an ICC statement Thursday, the Philippines ex-president’s lawyers argued that the court had taken an “impermissibly ‘flexible’ approach to the formulation of the charges.” The court had also failed “to articulate a reasoned evidentiary basis for confirming the charges,” his Duterte’s lawyers argued. Should his appeal fail, Duterte will be the first former head of an Asian state to appear before the ICC. The court tries individuals for the world’s most serious crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity. While the ICC has already appointed a three-judge panel for the case, it will likely take several months before the trial begins.
Judges
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has designated British jurist Joanna Korner as presiding judge of Trial Chamber III, which will hear the case against former president Rodrigo Duterte.
In a decision issued on Wednesday, the chamber said Korner will lead the three-judge panel tasked with trying Duterte. The panel also includes Keebong Paek of South Korea and Nicolas Guillou of France.
The designation was made after the ICC Presidency referred Duterte’s case to Trial Chamber III on April 24.
Korner brings more than five decades of legal experience to the role, including over 45 years focused on criminal law as both a barrister and a judge. Born on July 1, 1951, she was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1974 after studying at the Inns of Court School of Law in London.
Her legal career spans domestic and international jurisdictions. She was appointed Queen’s Counsel — now King’s Counsel — in 1993, served as a recorder beginning in 1994, and in 2012 became a judge of the Crown Court of England and Wales, where she presided over complex criminal trials involving serious offenses such as fraud and murder.
Korner is also known for her work in international criminal justice. She served for eight nonconsecutive years as a senior prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where she handled high-profile cases involving Bosnian Serb political and military leaders accused of atrocities during the Balkan conflicts, including Mico Stanisic and Stojan Zupljanin.
She also worked as Senior Legal Adviser to the chief prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2004 to 2005, helping establish the country’s War Crimes Section, and has trained judges and legal practitioners from more than 25 countries in international criminal law.
Elected to the ICC in December 2020, Korner assumed full-time duties in September 2021 for a nine-year term set to end in March 2030. She previously chaired the chamber that convicted Sudanese militia leader Ali Kushayb, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur.
She was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2004 in recognition of her contributions to international law.
Who are the other judges? Having begun his legal career in 1992, Paek served as public prosecutor of the Republic of Korea, and also served as a deputy director and later as a director at the Ministry of Justice.
“In these roles, he was responsible for managing ICC-related matters, drafting the implementation bill for Korea’s ratification of the Rome Statute and representing the country at ICC Preparatory Commission sessions and the Kampala Review Conference,” the ICC’s website said.
“In addition to his work in Korea, Judge Paek served at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (HQ and SEAP Regional Office). He provided crucial support to member states in implementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, focusing on strengthening law enforcement capacities,” the website said.
Paek studied law at the Seoul National University, having obtained his Master of Laws from Columbia Law School and a PhD from Hanyang University.
“His doctoral dissertation focused on the law of evidence in ICC proceedings, and he authored numerous books and articles on international criminal law,” the ICC said.
Elected to the ICC on Dec. 6, 2023, Paek joined the tribunal on March 11, 2024 and will serve until March 10, 2033.
He is assigned to the Trial Division, and handles Trial Chamber IV, Trial Chamber V, Trial Chamber VI and Trial Chamber X.
Meanwhile, before joining the ICC, Guillou served as pre-trial judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers for four years and worked as a Chef de Cabinet to the President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon from 2015 to 2019 and as Liaison Prosecutor at the United States Department of Justice 2012 to 2015.
Between 2006 and 2012, Guillou also held several positions in the Ministry of Justice in France as a deputy head of the Commercial Law Section, as adviser to the Minister on Criminal Affairs and as diplomatic adviser to the minister.
Having started as an investigative judge, Guillou has a Master’s degree in International and European Criminal Law from Sorbonne University and also graduated from the French National School for the Judiciary.
He joined the ICC on March 11, 2024, having been elected to the tribunal on Dec. 5, 2023. He currently handles Trial Chamber II, Trial Chamber IV and Pre-Trial Chamber I.
Duterte’s hearing will be held at the ICC Trial Chamber III, following the confirmation of charges against the former president last week.
“Trial Chamber III will be in charge of the conduct of the trial in this case. The chamber will hold status conferences, confer with the parties and participants in order to set the date of the trial and adopt the procedures necessary to facilitate the fair and expeditious conduct of the proceedings,” the ICC said.
