Defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman fired back at the International Criminal Court’s confirmation ruling Thursday, dismissing the evidentiary foundation of the case against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and pledging to challenge it fully when the matter proceeds to trial.
At the center of Kaufman’s criticism is the Pre-Trial Chamber’s treatment of the word “neutralise” — a term the chamber found was understood by those involved in anti-drug operations to mean “kill,” and which the court used as a basis for establishing the existence of a state or organisational policy underpinning the killings. Kaufman argued that conclusion rested on shaky ground.
“The whole of the Prosecution’s case, as pasted into the concluding paragraphs of the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision, is based on the uncorroborated statements of vicious self-confessed murderers acting as cooperating witnesses,” Kaufman said.
He contended that the credibility of those witnesses was never properly tested during the confirmation stage — a procedural threshold lower than what a full trial requires — and raised concerns about the treatment cooperating witnesses may receive in exchange for their testimony.
“They will now be excused prosecution and will most likely be rehoused with new identities at considerable cost to the international community funding the activities of the Office of the Prosecutor,” he said.
Kaufman framed the alleged state policy linking Duterte to the drug war killings as entirely fabricated, pledging the defense would dismantle it before a Trial Chamber.
“At trial, the Defence will prove that the aforementioned ‘State policy’ is a complete fiction,” he said. “The Defence will also show that the evidence of the very same criminal witnesses, so gleefully peddled by the former President’s many detractors, has zero weight.”
The confirmation ruling — handed down unanimously by Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc and Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera — found substantial grounds to believe Duterte bears criminal responsibility for murder and attempted murder as crimes against humanity under Article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute. The alleged offenses span from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019, covering both his tenure as Davao City mayor and his presidency.
Duterte was not present for the five-day confirmation hearing held in February, having waived his right to attend. The case will now move to a Trial Chamber, where the defense will have adequate time and resources to mount its full challenge.
