Defense lawyers for former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte have taken their challenge to the International Criminal Court’s Appeals Chamber, contesting a pretrial decision that kept him in custody ahead of a confirmation of charges.
In a six-page notice dated Jan. 28, the team invoked Article 82(1)(b) of the Rome Statute to contest a Jan. 26 ruling by Pre-Trial Chamber I that upheld continued detention after a periodic review. The filing asserts that the judges erred by declining to assess a medical submission prepared by defense-appointed specialists.
According to the appeal, a joint evaluation by a neurologist and a neuropsychologist describes a decline in Duterte’s health and cognitive condition and should have been weighed as a “new fact” during the detention review required under Article 60(3). The lawyers argued that the chamber was required to examine whether changed circumstances altered the need for custody.
Pretrial judges had previously said they would not rely on medical material introduced by a party or on a party’s interpretation of such evidence, citing concerns over impartial expertise. The defense countered that a blanket refusal to consider the report breached Duterte’s right to a fair hearing.
The appeal asks the higher chamber to set aside the pretrial ruling and direct Duterte’s interim release, subject to conditions earlier put forward by a state party.
Outside the courtroom, Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, said her father would keep his lawyers despite earlier setbacks. “He said he will not change it,” she said in Filipino during an interview on Wednesday in The Hague.
The Appeals Chamber is expected to issue procedural directions within two days of the filing, including whether the appeal will proceed through written submissions or an oral hearing.
