The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court has appointed a presiding judge to handle the appeal filed by former president Rodrigo Duterte's defense team on the ICC's jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines. Peruvian Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza will preside over the matter. This comes after an October 23 ruling affirming the court's authority.
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court has appointed Peruvian Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, a member of its five-member panel, to preside over the appeal filed by former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's defense team challenging the ICC's jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity. This was detailed in a three-page decision released Thursday night and signed by ICC Appeals Division President Erdenebalsuren Damdin.
Earlier, defense lawyers Nicholas Kaufman and Dov Jacobs submitted a notice of appeal against the October 23 ruling by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, which affirmed the court's jurisdiction over crimes committed in the Philippines while it was still a member state.
Duterte's lawyers urged the Appeals Chamber to "find that there exists no legal basis for the continuation of" the ICC proceedings against the former president and to order his "immediate and unconditional release" from detention.
The defense is expected to file an appeal brief outlining arguments to reverse the pre-trial chamber's decision, after which the prosecution and victims' counsel will have time to respond.
This appointment marks a key step in the ongoing legal challenges to the ICC's investigation into Duterte related to the Philippines' drug war from 2016 to 2019.