ICC Judges Orders New Health Check For Duterte
The experts will gauge if Duterte has the “capacity necessary for the meaningful exercise of his procedural and fair trial rights at the trial phase,” including understanding the charges and the evidence to be presented against him.
Trial judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have directed a panel of medical experts to clinically assess former president Rodrigo Duterte anew to determine his fitness to stand trial.
In a 17-page decision released Friday night, June 12, the ICC Trial Chamber III formally reconstituted the panel of three experts that previously examined the former president. They specialize in forensic psychiatry, geriatric and behavioral neurology and neuropsychology.
Specifically, the experts will gauge if Duterte has the “capacity necessary for the meaningful exercise of his procedural and fair trial rights at the trial phase,” including understanding the charges, the purpose and consequences of the proceedings and the evidence presented against him.
The experts have until Aug. 18 to submit their findings to the ICC Registry – more than three months before the expected start of Duterte’s crimes against humanity trial on Nov. 30.
The examination will also assess if the former president has the capacity to follow the course of the proceedings, testify or make unsworn statement and instruct his lawyers in the preparation and conduct of the defense.
The experts were instructed to determine if Duterte has any impairment in mental capacity, and whether it is reversible or irreversible.
The judges also directed the experts to compare their new findings from the previous assessment they conducted last year, as well as assess whether Duterte “is physically and psychologically able to withstand full-time trial proceedings and identify whether any special measures or adjustments are recommended to address any identified medical condition.”
During the case’s first status conference last month, Presiding Judge Joanna Korner ordered a new medical assessment on the former president, saying the previous finding only covered pre-trial proceedings.
The crimes against humanity case against Duterte has since been confirmed, with a new set of judges taking over the case.
In its decision, the ICC Trial Chamber III noted that “it is the exclusive responsibility of the Chamber to determine the fitness of the accused.”
“The role of the parties and appointed medical experts in connection to the determination of whether an accused is unfit to stand trial is better seen as assisting the Chamber in the exercise of its obligations in this regard,” the judges added.
The ICC Registry was given until Aug. 25 to submit the joint or individual reports of the experts to the trial chamber, while the prosecution, defense and the victims’ representatives have until Aug. 31 to submit their observations.
