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This Facebook post from Sept. 21, 2024 shows former President Rodrigo Duterte during the national assembly of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino in Davao City.
Rodrigo Duterte via FB
MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court rejected a request from detained former president Rodrigo Duterte to disclose correspondence between the ICC Registry and medical experts tasked with assessing his capacity to stand trial.
In a five-page resolution dated December 23, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I ruled that the disclosure sought by the defense was unnecessary, noting that Duterte’s lawyers already have access to essential information on how the expert panel was engaged.
“The Chamber notes that, in the Panel’s Reports, the Experts consistently refer to the Chamber’s instructions and relevant materials that have guided them in the preparation of their reports,” the chamber said.
“Further recalling that the Registry is a neutral organ of the Court, whose main role in the present case was to liaise with the Experts to transmit the Chamber’s instructions, the Chamber considers that, without further substantiation from the Defence, the disclosure of ‘all communications between the Registry and the three experts’ is not warranted,” it added.
The ruling stemmed from a petition filed by Duterte’s lawyers in August 2025 seeking an indefinite postponement of the proceedings. They alleged that the former president suffered from cognitive impairment and was unable to participate in trial proceedings.
The chamber said it had already issued clear directives on specific documents the registry was required to provide to the medical panel, pointing out that the defense has full access to those materials.
ICC jurisdiction and charges. On October 23, the ICC affirmed that it has jurisdiction to investigate Duterte despite the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2018.
Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity of murder in connection with alleged extrajudicial killings during his anti-drug campaign as president, as well as during his earlier tenure as mayor of Davao City.
