The International Criminal Court’s Appeals Chamber has upheld its authority to try former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte on crimes against humanity charges, dismissing every ground raised in his petition to have the case thrown out.
The ruling, delivered Wednesday Manila time, closes off what had been Duterte’s primary legal avenue for escaping prosecution — the argument that the ICC lost its authority over him when the Philippines formally withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019, two years before investigators launched the probe.
Presiding Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, reading the chamber’s decision, addressed the implications for Duterte’s detention directly: “Having rejected the entire appeal, the appeals chamber considers that the defense request for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Duterte is moot.”
The tribunal’s position, consistent with the Pre-Trial Chamber’s October 2025 ruling, is that jurisdiction attaches to when the alleged offenses occurred — not when the investigation began. Since the conduct in question took place while Manila was still a member state, the court holds that it retains competence over the case regardless of the subsequent withdrawal.
Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze issued a partial dissent on the second ground of appeal, though the majority’s rejection of all grounds stood.
The Appeals Chamber, the court’s highest division, moved ahead of an anticipated ruling from Pre-Trial Chamber I on whether the case advances to a full trial. Under Regulation 53 of the court’s procedural rules, that chamber has 60 days from the close of the confirmation of charges hearing on February 27 to issue its written decision.
That confirmation hearing, held in February, examined three counts of crimes against humanity — covering 78 murders and attempted murders allegedly carried out between 2011 and 2019. Prosecutors argued Duterte operated as an indirect co-perpetrator, effectively masterminding the killings. He waived his appearance at both the February hearing and ahead of Wednesday’s ruling.
