ICC Appeals Chamber rejects attempt to block investigation into Philippine ‘war on drugs’ News
OSeveno, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
ICC Appeals Chamber rejects attempt to block investigation into Philippine ‘war on drugs’

The International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber upheld a prior ICC decision to resume its investigations into civilian deaths as a result of the Philippine government’s “war on drugs” on Tuesday, stymying an attempt by the Philippines to block an external investigation.

In a 3-2 ruling, the majority rejected all four of the arguments raised by the Philippines, including whether the ICC has jurisdiction in the Philippines despite the country’s withdrawal from the court in 2019. The Appeals Chamber found that the decision to resume investigations does not constitute a “decision with respect to jurisdiction” and, furthermore, that the matter had not been properly raised before the court.

The chamber also reaffirmed the ICC’s view that, given the insufficiency of the Philippine government’s investigation, an ICC investigation is necessary. In 2021, the ICC temporarily suspended its probe at the request of the Philippine government, on the grounds that national authorities were already investigating the matter. Upon reopening the investigation, however, the ICC stated that the Philippine effort’s “various domestic initiatives and proceedings, assessed collectively, do not amount to tangible, concrete and progressive investigative steps in a way that would sufficiently mirror the Court’s investigation.”

Speaking for former President Rodrigo Duterte, a representative stated that as “an independent and sovereign state, only Philippine courts can try any crime committed in Philippine territory.”

“He has time and again said that because of this, he will face all his accusers anytime but before Philippine courts and before Filipino judges only.”

ICC prosecutors estimate that between 12,000 and 30,000 people have been killed in more than 200,000 Philippine anti-drug operations since July 2016.

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