ICC wraps up pre-trial hearings as Duterte’s November 30 case nears

The ICC Trial Chamber III concluded its status conference ahead of former President Rodrigo Duterte's trial for crimes against humanity, scheduled to start on November 30. Duterte waived his right to attend the last status conference, but will be expected to attend daily during the trial, which will include opening statements from the prosecution and victim representatives. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. MANILA, Philippines – The International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III wrapped up its status conference hearings on Monday, November 2, weeks before the start of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s trial for his crimes against humanity case. A status conference is where parties discuss matters related to the case before proceeding to a full trial. This is to ensure that the schedule and other legal matters proceed smoothly during the actual trial days. Duterte skipped his last status conference after waiving his right to appear. The chamber granted his request. “Mr. [Peter] Haynes, we’ve agreed exceptionally because this is not likely to be a particularly lengthy status conference that Mr. Duterte need not attend this morning. But once the actual trial starts, we will expect, as we said, [his] attendance on a daily basis,” said Presiding Judge Joanna Korner. The former president, who has been detained at The Hague, Netherlands since March 2025, appeared during his status conferences on September 16 and October 13, respectively. The September 16 schedule marked Duterte’s first-ever ICC appearance since his arrest in 2025. During the Monday hearing, the parties said they will have opening statements when the trial starts on November 30. The prosecution will deliver a statement, followed by the Common Legal Representatives of the Victims or the lawyers of the victims. Traditionally, the defense cannot deliver an opening statement, but Korner said the defense might want to give at least an outline of what Duterte’s defense will be. “And I want to know if you’ve considered applying, not to open in full, but to give, if you like, the public and the court an outline of what your defense is going to be, along the lines of what happens in other jurisdictions?” Korner asked. “We will certainly finalize that position within the next few days, and we’ll let you know for scheduling purposes. But I think it’s more likely than not that I will say something at the start of the case, given its stature, really, and the character of the accused and his status,” said Haynes, Duterte’s defense lawyer. The prosecution said they will open their case and take about four to six hours, and around three hours for the victims. Principal Counsel Office of Public Counsel for Victims Paolina Massidda said they asked the chamber if they can use Tagalog (Filipino) for parts of their opening statement. “Our request is more, during the opening statement, we will make some remark in quoting parts of a narrative that victims provided to us, and we’d like to do that in Tagalog,” said Massidda. “And the purpose is a lot of victims will be connecting to the hearing. For them, it’s also important to listen how we convey to the chamber what they narrated to us and their experiences, and they relate and connect much more if that is done in Tagalog,” she added. But Korner reiterated that the Rome Statute or the treaty that created the ICC, provides for only English and French as the court’s working languages. Apart from saying that there are interpreters, Korner said Tagalog is not the language of all the victims. “So while we understand that you want to relate to the victims, you want the victims to relate to what’s being said, all of it, everything you say, as I understand it…. will be translated in any event, interpreted,” the presiding judge explained. Schedule, witnesses For the first batch of evidence, Korner said the chamber will adopt a new schedule. Like what had been announced in the past, there will be 30-minute breaks per hour to heed the experts’ advice that no sitting for Duterte beyond one hour. The schedule of sessions is as follows: 10:00 – 11:00 am 11:00 – 11:30 am (break) 11:30 am to 12:30 pm 12:30 to 1:30 pm (lunch break) 1:30 – 2:30 pm 2:30 – 3:00 pm (break) 3:00 – 4:00 pm For the hearings in 2027, the parties — prosecution, victims, and defense — proposed the following schedule: January 11 to 29 (three weeks) One-week break (Feb 1-5) February 8 to 19 (two weeks) Two-week break (Feb 22-March 5) March 8 to 26 (final three weeks) “I think, from all of us, if it’s possible to have the week of the 22nd of February off, and that is because that is when it’s a school break for all the different schools, the Dutch, British, French, and so that affects many people, I think, on the different teams,” said the Prosecution’s senior trial lawyer Julian Nicholls. Meanwhile, the chamber said the prosecution will present five witnesses for the first batch of evidence. The first witness will take six hours, a “little much shorter” time for the other two, then four hours each for the last two witnesses. Korner also asked the prosecution if it was possible to prioritize the in-person witnesses, before presenting witnesses who will testify via video link. Nicholls said they have at least 29 witnesses who will testify online. Once again, the large data set of evidence against Duterte, a subject of debate in the last status conferences, was brought up. Nicholls said they will discuss the matter to straighten things out. “And so we’re planning on having meetings this week to see about ways we may be able to reach agreements, which, as we started talking about this, if we can come to some agreements, that may sort of extract the relevance of a lot of, or not relevance, but extract the need to rely on much of that if we can come to some agreements,” said the prosecution lawyer. The court also went into private or closed sessions multiple times during the Monday hearing. The chamber does this when there are matters that are private or confidential in nature that need to be discussed. – Rappler.com