By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora
MANILA – The International Criminal Court (ICC) trial chamber wants detained former President Rodrigo Duterte to appear in the September 7 status conference on his crime against humanity case.
At the second status conference held on June 23, ICC trial chamber III presiding Judge Joanna Korner said Duterte was only excused from hearing during the day because it was “relatively short.”
Duterte skipped the Tuesday meeting and was represented by his legal counsel Peter Haynes.
“I’d rather feel the one on the 7th of September—because by then we’ll have had the reports—is likely to be an important one. And for that, certainly, Mr. Haynes, we would expect Mr. Duterte to be here, unless there’s some medical issue,” Korner said.
The presiding judge said the panel of experts who will examine Duterte would have submitted their reports by August 18, while parties and participants would file their observations by August 31.
Aside from the deadline for expert panel observations, the status conference on Tuesday covered protocols on handling confidential information related to the case.
Korner reminded all counsels to refrain from making any comment about the proceedings outside the courtroom.
Part of the reporting of earlier proceedings in the case, she said, “was not assisted by comments” made by then Defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman, who was given a reminder on October 3 to “be respectful and courteous” to the ICC chamber.
“Regrettably, that reminder had no effect. On 26th April of this year, after the Appeals Chamber had made its decision on jurisdiction, Kaufman gave at least two interviews commenting on the decision,” Korner said.
“Some of those comments were his personal view of legal decisions made by the court as a whole, and were, on any showing, wholly inappropriate, the more so when made by counsel in the case,” she said,
As the full trial nears, she echoed the reminder for both the defense and the prosecution teams.
“The appropriate forum for counsel to raise matters is in the courtroom. Trials are not conducted by the court of public opinion, but by this court during the course of the proceedings,” she said.
Korner issued the reminder as she warned that the case has not only attracted media attention, but also “provoked suppliers of what is undoubtedly fake news.”
The next status conference is set on July 14, with three more meetings scheduled on Sept. 7, Oct. 13 and Nov. 2 prior to the trial on November 30. (PNA)
