OSG spox: ICC has no jurisdiction to examine alleged EJKs

INQUIRER file photo

The spokesman of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on Friday said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction to dip its hand over allegations of crimes against humanity against President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials.

OSG spokesman Atty. Erik Dy said that the ICC can only intervene if domestic courts become “incapable” of carrying out proper proceedings.

While Dy clarified that the ICC would not be barred from conducting a preliminary examination in order to determine jurisdiction, he said that “assumption of jurisdiction, however, is a different matter.”

“The ICC cannot replace our national courts. The ICC may only exercise jurisdiction where domestic courts are incapable of carrying out the proper proceedings,” Dy explained in an emailed statement to the media.

Dy added that there are adequate laws and remedies in the country to address the issue of alleged extra-judicial killings.

“In fact, petitions against the administration’s War on Drugs are now pending for resolution before the Supreme Court. This negates the need for the ICC to take cognizance of the matter,” he stressed.

READ: ICC vows to work independently in examining PH drug deaths

ICC prosecutor Fatous Bensouda on Thursday announced that they would conduct a preliminary examination into crimes allegedly committed by the government since July 1, 2016, or the day after Duterte took office.

Bensouda assured the Philippine government that the preliminary examination would be carried out “with full independence and impartiality in accordance with its mandate and the applicable legal instruments of the Court.” /jpv