The Hague, Netherlands — The ICC Prosecution handling the case of former President Rodrigo Duterte expressed objection to the defense’s request to disqualify two of the case’s judges over jurisdiction grounds.
In a May 22 response, Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang rejected the concern raised by the defense team, stating possibility of impartiality on the end of the two judges namely Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou at María del Socorro Flores Liera.
On May 12, Duterte’s lead defense counsel Atty. Nicholas Kaufman submitted a disqualification request against the two judges before the ICC presidency, seeking to disqualify them from deciding and adjudicating from the case.
Kaufman noted the two judges’ prior involvement in the deliberation of the situation in the Philippines, authorizing the investigation versus Duterte.
He argued that these involvements may create impartiality issues and bias in the deliberation and adjudication of the case.
The prosecution believes otherwise, saying that the prior participation of the two in the course of the investigation is not a reasonable argument for impartiality or bias claims.
They emphasized that the judges have not predetermined that the outcome of the jurisdictional dispute will be in favor of the prosecution, and that their involvement in the jurisdictional question in the situation in the Philippines is not a reasonable objective to perceive them as biased.
Attached in the prosecution’s response are their call to the ICC presidency and plenary to junk the request of the defense.
The confirmation hearing on Duterte’s case is set for September.