The British barrister recently brought on to steer former President Rodrigo Duterte’s defense at the International Criminal Court says he does not expect proceedings to stretch on indefinitely, and that his client remains in good shape ahead of the courtroom battle.
In an exclusive sit-down with Alvin & Tourism, newly appointed counsel Atty. Peter Haynes characterized the detained former leader as being in “very good spirits” as the defense readies itself for the trial phase at The Hague. Pressed on how long the case might run, Haynes offered an estimate well short of common expectations. “It won’t take as long as two years,” he said.
Haynes took over the lead defense role from Nicholas Kaufman, whose engagement to represent Duterte concluded at the end of March 2026. The handover was set in motion on May 7, when Duterte met with members of his defense team at the ICC detention center and personally named Haynes as the lawyer he wanted to take the case forward, according to the withdrawal filing Kaufman lodged with Trial Chamber III. The court’s Registry formally confirmed the appointment on May 15.
A practitioner of international criminal and humanitarian law for more than two decades, Haynes is best known for the 2018 appeals victory that cleared Congolese politician Jean-Pierre Bemba of war crimes and crimes against humanity — one of the rare full acquittals the ICC has ever produced. He previously led the ICC Bar Association and has handled matters before tribunals dealing with the former Yugoslavia and Lebanon, including representation tied to the Srebrenica massacre and the bombing that killed Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Since stepping into the role, Haynes has moved quickly to press the question of whether Duterte is medically fit to face trial at all. In a 14-page submission filed May 15, he argued that fixing a start date would be premature while questions over the former president’s health remained unresolved, telling the chamber that any commencement should hinge on a determination of Duterte’s fitness. Should the court find his client competent, Haynes asked for a preparation window of 14 to 19 months — substantially longer than prosecutors wanted.
That gap was effectively settled on May 27, when Presiding Judge Joanna Korner announced the chamber would adopt the prosecution’s preferred timeline and open the trial on November 30, 2026. Korner added that judges would still weigh the results of fresh medical examinations before deciding whether Duterte should be granted a weekly day away from the courtroom.
The charges trace back to the anti-drug campaign Duterte oversaw as president. In April, the Pre-Trial Chamber confirmed all three counts of crimes against humanity against him, finding sufficient grounds to send the case to trial over the killing of 76 people and the attempted killing of two others.
