(Eagle News)—The International Criminal Court has begun its preliminary examination of the communication for crimes against humanity filed against President Rodrigo Duterte by the National Union of People’s Lawyers.
This as the tribunal based in The Netherlands said in a letter to the NUPL that the communication, which was filed over the drug war, “relates to a situation already under preliminary examination by the Office of the Prosecutor.”
The ICC was apparently referring to the communication filed by the group of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and lawyer Jude Sabio.
The tribunal said the NUPL communication “will be analyzed in this context, with the assistance of other related communications and other available information.”
It said an “analysis will be carried out as expeditiously as possible, but please be aware that meaningful analysis of these factors can take some time.”
“Under Article 53 of the Rome Statute, the prosecutor must consider whether there is reasonable basis to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the court have been committed, the gravity of the crimes, whether national systems are investigating and prosecuting the relevant crimes, and the interests of justice,” the ICC said.
According to the tribunal, “as soon as a decision is taken on whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, we will advise you promptly and we will provide the reasons for the decision.”
The Philippines withdrawal from the ICC became official on March 17, a year after the country informed the tribunal of its plans.
President Rodrigo Duterte made the announcement to leave after ICC prosecutor Bensou Fatuoda announced a preliminary examination of the communication filed against Duterte by Trillanes’ group.
Duterte had said the Rome Statute, which creates the ICC, never took effect in the Philippines as it was never published in the Official Gazette nor in a newspaper of general circulation.
The Palace added the ICC could only come in in countries where it has jurisdiction if domestic courts were no longer functioning.