UP prof of int'l criminal law: ICC case against Duterte bound to fail, 'Managinip sila'

Kabayan Representative and the only Filipino lawyer licensed to practice ICC Harry Roque said that the moves to impeach President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court.

This is because the ICC, according to the expert on ineternational law is the court of last resort.



This means that it will only intervene if all remedies in the home country have been exhausted.

“Because of complementarity and lack of jurisdiction. Managinip sila (Dream on). Do not think you can go directly to the ICC because the states will never agree to that. It’s the court of last resort,” Roque said.

Roque in a previous statement said that according to the Principle of Complementarity enshrined in Articles 1 and 17 of the Rome Statute, the ICC will only exercise jurisdiction when Philippine courts are unwilling or unable to do so.

This means that PH still has the primary jurisdiction for any complaint for crimes against humanity.

“Primarily, to constitute a crime against humanity, it must be shown that there are acts of murder, persecution, or other prohibited acts, committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population. Critics would argue that because there have been many incidents of drug-related violence, that a crime against humanity must have been committed,” Roque said.

He added that it is yet to be confirmed if the administration’s narcotics crackdown is a “systematic” plan to kill drug personalities.



“We can see, however, that while there may have been errors in the manner by which crime has been addressed in the country, it is difficult to see the entire campaign against drugs as one systematic plan to kill drug personalities,” Roque said.

“The fact that over a million people, including drug surrenderers, have been peacefully placed under the jurisdiction of the State shows that the primary intention has always been simply to end the propagation of illegal drugs in the country,” he added.

The 77-page  complaint involved President Rodrigo Duterte and 11 other officials in his administration for alleged human rights crimes.

It was filed by self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato's lawyer, Jude Sabio.

SOURCE:  Philippine Daily Inquirer

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