The International Criminal Court (ICC) has denied former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team’s attempt to restrict how victims are verified in the ongoing investigation into the deadly war on drugs under his administration.
In a 20-page decision released on April 17, the ICC pre-trial chamber upheld the process proposed by the ICC Registry for confirming the identities of victims seeking to join the case. This includes allowing a variety of documents to prove identity.
“This information, together with the procedure for admission of victims to participate in the proceedings adopted above, already ensures the ‘reliability of the identity verification process and significantly reduces the risk of fraud,’” the chamber stated.
The court added that in the absence of traditional IDs, applicants can still be verified through a declaration signed by two witnesses, along with their identification, affirming either the applicant’s identity or their relation to the victim.
Still, the chamber acknowledged the defense’s concern and said that applications backed by non-standard documents will be reviewed individually. “The chamber will decide on their acceptance on a case-by-case basis after receiving the Registry’s evaluation and recommendations,” the order said.
The ICC Registry, which handles non-judicial functions of the court, had earlier submitted a list of 30 different documents for consideration in the verification process. It also noted the Philippines’ delay in issuing national ID cards as a possible hurdle for applicants.
