THE HAGUE, Netherlands: The Trial Chamber (TC) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has tapped the same three-member panel of doctors during the pretrial stage to determine whether former President Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial five months from now for crimes against humanity in the drug war killings.
In the redacted version of its decision on June 12, the TC III directed the three independent medical specialists, who all confirmed their availability for the case, to submit their joint assessment on Duterte’s health to the Registry by Aug. 18.
The Registry, the international tribunal’s administrative office, was ordered to submit the report, whether jointly or individually, to the chamber by Aug. 24. The identities of the doctors, who are accredited to practice in the ICC, remain confidential.
“Given that the accused is now to stand trial, the chamber finds that it requires an objective assessment of the accused’s health by independent experts for the purposes of making a determination as to his fitness to stand trial. In light of the accused’s previous medical examination during the pre-trial phase, the chamber finds that it would be reasonable for the appointed experts to use as a point of departure the findings contained in the initial expert reports,” the TC III said in its 17-page ruling.
Legal team’s request
It added that the medical experts shall report on Duterte’s health status, whether it has remained “stable” or has “changed in any manner” when he faces the chamber starting Nov. 30.
The new round of assessment by the court-appointed doctors, composed of experts in geriatric and behavioural neurology, forensic psychiatry and neuropsychology, was in response to the defence team’s request to review Duterte’s condition before the trial starts.
Under Article 63 of the Rome Statute, the ICC’s guiding framework, the presence of an accused is required during trial.
The former president’s lawyers, now led by British barrister Peter Haynes, argued that his condition “continues to deteriorate and will need more fully to be reviewed before any trial may commence.”
During the first status conference last month, Presiding Judge Joanna Korner of the TC III instructed both the defence and the prosecution to come up with a letter of instruction containing proposals for Duterte’s medical examination.
The chamber said it accepted the suggestions, except for some that were either “not entirely relevant or falling outside the scope of the expert panel’s expertise.”
Among the instructions were to clinically assess Duterte to find out his capacity to exercise his rights as an accused throughout the trial; to determine any impairment in his medical capacity, and if present, to determine the cause and the recommended treatment; to identify any factor that contributes to the exacerbation of any condition; and determine possible impact on his health as a result of his participation in the trial.
Last year’s findings
The TC III also asked the expert panel to submit concrete proposals on measures and modalities to be imposed for Duterte’s benefit given that trials, by practice, run on a daily basis for two to four weeks straight. It adjourns for only one or two weeks before resuming hearings again.
The chamber, however, deferred ruling on the defence’s request to have oral hearings on the matter until experts complete their examination and submit their reports.
During the pretrial stage, the medical specialists released their reports in December, but details remain redacted because they contained sensitive information.
The observations of the prosecution, defence and the common legal representative of victims, however, stated conclusive parts of the assessment.
“Upon completion of their assessments, panel members individually reached the same overall conclusion that, while frail and elderly, Mr. Duterte, nevertheless, possesses the necessary capacities to meaningfully exercise his procedural and fair trial rights,” the prosecution earlier said in its observations of the medical findings last year.
The initial examination was conducted at the request of the old legal team, then led by lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, citing Duterte’s purported condition of “cognitive impairment on multiple domains.” This led to the suspension of the original schedule of the confirmation of charges in September last year. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
