THE HAGUE: The high-profile case of former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court comes at a welcome time for the institution, which faces unprecedented attacks from all sides and even US sanctions, experts say.
When the 79-year-old steps into the court in the hulking glass building in The Hague, he will be the first Asian former head of state to appear, facing charges of crimes against humanity over his “war on drugs.”
His whirlwind transfer from Manila to The Hague to face justice could not have come at a better time for the under-fire ICC, which can celebrate a rare coup, said Willem van Genugten, Professor of International Law at Tilburg University in The Netherlands.
“I see the arrest and handing over of Duterte as a gift at an important moment in time,” he told AFP.
Melanie O’Brien, Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Western Australia, described Duterte’s sudden arrest and surrender as “monumental”.
“I think this is a really positive thing for the ICC. And I think it’s a really positive thing for international law and justice generally,” she told AFP.
Critics of the ICC have pointed to a focus on lower-level, mainly African, suspects and a poor conviction record.
“It’s very important to have caught such a big fish, showing the world again that impunity is no option for even (former) political leaders,” said van Genugten.
The ICC has suffered some high profile failures, with former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo cleared, former DR Congo vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba acquitted on appeal and former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta having charges dropped.
But O’Brien believed Duterte’s was “more of a slam dunk case” than previous trials against former heads of state.
The arrest warrant issued by ICC judges is for a single charge — the crime against humanity of murder.
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