A Japanese-led non-governmental organization has formally called on the International Criminal Court to release former Philippine president Rodrigo Roa Duterte and relinquish jurisdiction over his case, submitting an open letter to the tribunal on the eve of a landmark ruling.
The International Career Support Association (ICSA), a Japan-based group holding consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, addressed the letter to Judge Tomoko Akane and made it public on April 20, 2026, one day before the ICC Appeals Chamber is set to hand down its judgment on Duterte’s jurisdictional challenge.
The ICSA’s Director for UN Affairs, Shunichi Fujiki, signed the correspondence, framing Duterte’s ongoing detention as a humanitarian concern. “For an 81-year-old individual suffering from serious medical conditions, such a prolonged pre-trial detention is entirely unacceptable from a humanitarian standpoint,” the letter stated.
Central to the ICSA’s argument is the principle of complementarity under Article 17 of the Rome Statute, which the group contends prohibits the ICC from intervening where a functioning national judiciary exists. The letter asserted that the Philippines operates a fully capable three-tiered court system and that the ICC, as a body of last resort, has no grounds to proceed when domestic courts remain operational.
The group also raised what it described as a sovereignty concern, arguing that continued ICC involvement in Philippine affairs sets a destabilizing precedent for the international order. It further contended that the proceedings carry a political dimension, characterizing the case as an effort to diminish the influence of the Duterte family at a time when Vice President Sara Duterte faces her own impeachment proceedings.
The letter urged the court to formally recommend that the Philippine government handle the matter through its own judicial institutions.
The Appeals Chamber is composed of Presiding Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, along with Judges Tomoko Akane, Solomy Balungi Bossa, Gocha Lordkipanidze, and Erdenebalsuren Damdin. The judgment will be delivered in open court at 11 a.m. in The Hague and can be followed live on the ICC’s website.
Duterte has asked the chamber to allow him to skip the open court reading, waiving his right to appear in person and instructing his lawyers to attend in his place.
Duterte’s lawyers are appealing the October 23, 2025 decision of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, which dismissed their challenge to the tribunal’s jurisdiction over charges filed against the former president. According to ICC-accredited counsel Gilbert Andres, who represents victims in the case, the upcoming ruling will be the first time the Appeals Chamber has directly decided on the effect of a state’s withdrawal on the court’s jurisdiction over an ongoing situation.
