THE International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected the request of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s camp to disqualify two judges from the ongoing case against him over alleged crime against humanity, citing impartiality.
In a decision dated July 3, the plenary of judges said there are no grounds to doubt the impartiality of Judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera in the current case, further noting that they acted in accordance with their duties at all times.
“The plenary of judges, acting unanimously, considers that no actual nor reasonable apprehension of bias arises in respect of Judges Alapini-Gansou and Flores. The plenary of judges considers that the judges acted, at all times, in accordance with the judicial duties assigned to them under the Statute,” the order reads.
In the Duterte camp’s request, it said the impartiality of Judge Alapini-Gansou and Judge Flores might be reasonably doubted given that they have already ruled on exactly the same issue in exactly the same situational context.
They argued that judges who have already formed a firm opinion on the case should not decide on the question of jurisdiction.
Duterte is currently detained at an ICC facility in the Netherlands amid an ongoing investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed during his administration’s drug war. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)