Courts, through judges, should perform their duties free of influence or control by other actors, and make decisions according to the law. This is a fundamental precept all over the world, and a core element of a fair and prompt trial.
Victims of Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who must stand trial for crimes against humanity committed in the Philippines in the context of the “war on drugs”, decry sanctions made by the US government on judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), They were specifically targeted because of their decisions on war crimes involving the US and allies. One judge who also sits in Duterte’s pre-trial chamber, Judge Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou, had approved the issuance of warrants of arrest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
The sanctions against five ICC officials are authorized by Donald Trump’s Executive Order (E.O.) 14203, which potentially covers thousands of others working or cooperating with the court. This includes people working on the Duterte case – prosecutors, investigators, lawyers, witnesses, and so forth. They would not be able to travel to the US or maintain property there. This is at the least, inconvenient; at worst, disruptive and obstructive,
The ICC is one arena that victims of Duterte have, at present, to enforce their right to know what, how, and why things happened in the “war on drugs”. The right to truth is an inalienable and autonomous right that government must respect and fulfill in order to protect and guarantee human rights, to conduct effective investigations, to guarantee effective remedy and reparations, and, perhaps more urgently, to prevent the recurrence of rights violations.
Killings in the “war on drugs” are also supposed to be discussed in the impeachment case of Vice-President Sara Duterte. The fifth article of impeachment charges her with the high crimes of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, for her alleged role in the Davao Death Squad.
Issues of judicial independence also loom over the Senate, There, the Dutertes are benefiting from a wide berth in their political influence, wrongly and unlawfully, to delay or even to kill the trial. They should not emboldened to do the same hullaballoo at the ICC.
Attacking a court – its autonomy, its authority, and its legitimacy – is no way to win a case. The Dutertes, both Rodrigo and Sara, should stand trial for their rights violations, under due process in our laws. Victims of the Dutertes past transgressions deserve truth and justice, and most especially pray that there will be no more of them in the future.
References:
Atty. Neri Javier Colmenares
Counsel for victims with Rise Up for Life and for Rights; National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers
+639178350459
Atty. Maria Kristina Conti
Assisting counsel from NUPL for Rise Up
Registered as assistant to counsel at the ICC
+639298207000 | nupl2007@gmail.com
