ICC to deliver ruling on Duterte jurisdiction appeal on April 22

MANILA, Philippines — The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced Thursday that it would issue its judgment on former president Rodrigo Duterte’s appeal challenging the court’s jurisdiction on April 22, 2026. In a scheduling order dated April 2, the five-judge panel, presided over by Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, said the ruling would be delivered in open court at 11 a.m. Duterte is seeking to overturn a decision by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I issued on Oct. 23, 2025, which dismissed his challenge to the court’s jurisdiction. He has argued that the tribunal has no legal authority to hear the case. The ICC has been investigating Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, during which thousands of suspected drug users and dealers were killed in operations carried out by state forces and vigilantes between 2011 and 2019, spanning his tenure as mayor of Davao City and later as president. The Philippines remained a member of the ICC until its formal withdrawal in March 2019. However, the court has maintained that it retained jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while the country was still a party to the Rome Statute. The forthcoming ruling is expected to determine whether the case will proceed to trial or be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. Other members of the Appeals Chamber are Judges Tomoko Akane, Solomy Balungi Bossa, Gocha Lordkipanidze, and Erdenebalsuren Damdin.

Go to News Site