MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Trial Chamber III held its final status conference on Monday, Nov. 2, ahead of the Nov. 30 trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
At the status conference, the chamber addressed the following procedural matters:
- Accused’s attendance: Duterte’s daily attendance is mandated once the trial starts.
READ: Duterte required to physically attend trial – ICC
- Prosecution presentation: The Prosecution agreed to slash its opening statement duration to three hours or under and was allocated a total of 150 hours to present its evidence-in-chief.
- Defense opening statement: The Chamber has allowed defense counsel Peter Haynes to present a brief preliminary public opening outline at the start of the trial without forfeiting the right to make a formal opening statement prior to the presentation of the defense’s case.
- Tagalog language request denied: A request by the Principal Counsel of the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims Paolina Massida to deliver parts of their opening statement in Tagalog was denied pursuant to the Rome Statute limiting court working languages to English and French.
- Revised court schedule: Daily hearing times were adjusted to run from 10am to 4pm (5pm to 11pm PH time) with multiple breaks to accommodate medical evaluations regarding Duterte’s physical condition and facilitate legal instructions.
To accommodate medical advice regarding Duterte’s physical stamina and facilitate client instructions, the chamber revised the evidentiary sitting schedule for the first block of hearings, which will run until Dec. 18, before the Christmas recess.
Session/Break Time
Session 1 10:00 am to 11:00 am (5:00 pm to 6:00 pm PH time)
Morning break 11:00 am to 11:30 am (6:00 pm to 6:30 pm)
Session 2 11:30 am to 12:30 pm (6:30 pm to 7:30 pm)
Lunch break 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm (7:30 pm to 8:30 pm)
Session 3 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm (8:30 pm to 9:30 pm)
Afternoon break 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm (9:30 pm to 10:00 pm)
Session 4 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm (10:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
Evidentiary presentation, witnesses, and time budgets
- Prosecution evidentiary allotment: The Chamber granted the Prosecution 150 hours to present its evidence-in-chief, leaving management of individual witness times to counse’s discretion.
- Rule 68 applications: Prosecution confirmed that seven additional Rule 68 applications covering seven witnesses will be filed by the end of November.
- Audio-video link (AVL witnesses): Prosecution confirmed that approximately 29 witnesses will testify via remote video link. The Chamer and the Registry took note of the time zone differences that would require possible early morning start for specific sessions.
READ: Time difference poses challenges to Duterte ICC trial
- Expert witness alignment: Defense and Prosecution agreed to explore a protocol to hear opposing experts consecutively and arrange pre-testimony expert meetings to narrow contested points.
Action items and key agreements
- Cross-examination time request: The defense will submit an overall requested hour estimate through email to legal officers by the end of the week.
- AVL witness breakdown: The prosecution will provide a written breakdown such as the categories, timelines, issues for the 29 AVL witnesses by Wednesday.
- Updated witness calling order: The prosecution will submit an updated list indicating AVL status, Article 55/Rule 74 self-incrimination issues and Rule 68 status by Friday.
- Expert presentation protocol: Both the defense and prosecution will draft and submit a joint opposed protocol for consecutive expert testimony and pre-testimony meetings within a few days (no specific deadline was mentioned)
- Winter break schedule: Parties requested recess during the week of February 22, 2027 (school break period); Chamber took proposal under advisement.
- Rule 68/Protection deadlines: Parties to consult and propose fixed procedural deadlines through email to replace the 45-day rolling timeline. /dl