Get to know the prosecution and defense teams at Duterte's ICC confirmation of charges hearing

The prosecution

A seven-person prosecution team is handling the case against Duterte, led by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, who took over from ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan.

In May 2025, Khan went on a voluntary leave of absence, at least for the duration of the United Nations-led investigation into claims of sexual misconduct against him. Months later, the ICC appeals judges disqualified Khan from the war crimes case due to a possible conflict of interest.

Mame Mandiaye Niang

The deputy prosecutor has been serving in his current role since Dec. 10, 2021, when he was elected by the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute during its 20th session. Niang was sworn in on March 7, 2022. 

According to his profile on the ICC website, Niang is a graduate of The National School of Administration and Magistracy in Dakar Senegal. Since university, he has held numerous senior positions in the Senegalese judicial system. These include: 

• Prosecutor general of the Appeals court of Saint Louis in Senegal
• Director of Criminal Affairs and Pardons at the Senegalese Ministry of Justice, "Auditeur" at the Senegalese Supreme Court, attached to the prosecutor general
• Trial attorney at the Regional Tribunal of Dakar
• Magistrate at the Regional Tribunal of Dakar

Within the United Nations system, Niang held several positions at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Southern Africa, and the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 

Niang is a member of the Union of Senegalese Magistrates and the Senegalese Section of the International Association of Criminal Law. 

Julian Nicholls

Nicholls has been serving as a senior trial lawyer at ICC since 2013. 

According to The Org, Nicholls earned a Juris Doctor with distinction from Emory University School of Law, then completed a Master of Laws in Public International Criminal Law, cum laude, from Leiden University. 

He then worked as a trial lawyer at the New Hampshire Public Defender from 1993 to 1999. 

Nicholls became a trial lawyer and eventually a senior trial lawyer at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2013. 

Edward Jeremy

According to his LinkedIn profile, Jeremy has had over 20 years of experience in litigation. 

The UK lawyer earned a Master's degree in transitional justice and conflict resolution from the University of Cape Town in 2012. 

After serving as a legal volunteer for Defence at the ICC and then also for the Office of the Prosecutor in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Jeremy became a full-time associate legal officer for the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He held this position for three years. 

Jeremy then served as assistant appeals counsel for the Office of the Prosecutor with the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals before moving to ICC, first as an associate trial lawyer and then, currently, as a trial lawyer. 

Robynne Croft

Based on her LinkedIn information, Croft earned a Bachelor of Laws degree with first-class honors from the University of Sydney. She also took up an advanced master's in public international law, specializing in international criminal law, finishing with cum laude.  

Croft served as associate legal officer with the United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials before working as associate appeals counsel for the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals. She then became a legal officer for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. 

The trial lawyer has been with the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor for a little over eight years now. 

Maria Berdennikova

Although public records of Berdennikova's credentials are sparse, ICC has named her as an official member of its Prosecutor's Office.

Specifically, Berdennikova appeared as prosecution counsel in cases before ICC's Trial Chamber V regarding the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Central African Republic II. 

Hannah Allen

Allen earned her Juris Doctor from Western University, took up a summer course in public international law at The Hague Academy of International Law, and then completed her Master of Laws at Harvard Law School. 

She began her work in international law as a research assistant for Harvard Medical School's Program on International Law and Armed Conflict. 

Allen then moved on to work as a visiting professional at the ICC. She did a turn as an associate legal officer, Defence for the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, which is a temporary institution in The Hague with a jurisdiction over crimes against humanity and war crimes under Kosovo law. 

In 2023, Allen became an associate legal officer with the ICC, where she remains today. 

The defense

Duterte won't be present in the court after it granted a defense request to waive his right to appear. However, his legal team is in attendance to represent him before the tribunal.

Here’s a look at the lawyers forming Duterte's defense team before the ICC, led by Nicholas Kaufman.

Nicholas Kaufman

Nicholas Kaufman serves as the lead of Duterte's defense team. An ICC-accredited lawyer, Kaufman has over three decades of experience in international criminal law.

He previously served as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, during which he represented and advised high-profile businessmen, politicians, and government officials.

Kaufman specializes in International Regulatory Law, European Union Regulatory Law, International Criminal Law, International Human Rights Law, International Reputation Management, and State-Investor Arbitration.

He has represented high-profile businessmen and politicians, including former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba and former Central African Republic minister Maxime Mokom.

The British-Israeli lawyer also counseled former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's daughter Aisha, who sought an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her father's death at the international tribunal.

Kaufman attained his degree in law at the University of Cambridge in 1989 and studied at the Inns of Court School of Law in 1991.

Dov Jacobs

Dov Jacobs was appointed as associate counsel for Duterte. His LinkedIn profile states he has 15 years of experience in international law, international criminal law, and human rights.

Per 9BR Chambers, he was previously on the defense team of former Côte d'Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo, participating in all relevant proceedings from the confirmation of charges to the trial. This led to the acquittal of Laurent Gbagbo in January 2019 following a "no case to answer" procedure, an acquittal confirmed on appeal in March 2021.

Jacobs completed his PhD at the European University Institute in Florence on Hybrid Tribunals and joined Leiden University in 2011 as an assistant professor in International Law.

His published work has covered a diversity of issues, from shared responsibility in international law, immunities, criminal procedure, and the rights of the defense, as well as transitional justice. 

Havneet Sethi

Havneet Sethi is an attorney licensed to practice in the State of New York on top of being an associate counsel at the ICC.

Her LinkedIn profile states that she has over 15 years of experience and expertise in public interest law, including international criminal litigation and human rights law.

She is also skilled in conducting comparative legal research, drafting reports for legal and non-legal audiences, developing legal strategy, and managing large and multi-faceted projects."

Sethi highlighted that she is "committed to legal advocacy to defend human rights" and has experience in building collaborative relationships with multiple stakeholders, such as international organizations, government officials, academic experts, and civil society actors.

She graduated summa cum laude with an Advanced LL.M. in Public International Law from Leiden University.

Alexandre Desevedavy

Alexandre Desevedavy has been a lawyer at the ICC for four years now, per his LinkedIn profile.

According to Knoops' Advocaten, Desevedavy graduated with a double diploma in French Law and English Law from the University of Essex in the UK and Université Paris X Nanterre in France, with a focus on criminal law and criminal procedure.

He later pursued a Master’s degree in International Criminal Law at the Université Paris II Assas in France.

Sandrine de Sena

Sandrine de Sena is a legal consultant with the Directorate of Judicial Affairs of the Registry of the ICC, per her profile on Thucydides Centre, where she also works as an associate researcher.

Aside from her legal profession, she also teaches international criminal law in the Master's program in Human Rights and International Justice at the University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas, specializing in International Criminal Justice. She also lectures on the subject in France and abroad.

De Sena's profile states that she "aspires to develop her practice in general criminal law and international criminal law within a firm, while maintaining her teaching and research activities."

She completed her doctorate in international criminal law from the University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas.

Kailin Chen

According to her LinkedIn profile, Kailin Chen has been a legal assistant for defense at the ICC since October 2025.

Previously, she was a legal associate at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a position she held for three years. Aside from that, Chen also worked at the Australian branch of the International Law Association.

She achieved her Juris Doctor degree at the University of Sydney.

Duterte's ICC case

Duterte has been at the ICC since March 12, 2025, following his arrest at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

He is facing charges for crimes against humanity, specifically two counts of murder and one count of murder and attempted murder that were allegedly committed between 2013 and June 2016, and between July 2016 and September 2018 in relation to his war on drugs campaign in the Philippines.

His camp has made appeals for interim release, but The Hague tribunal has rejected them as he "continues to pose a flight risk."

A survey by research firm WR Numero revealed that 44% of 1,412 Filipinos believe that Duterte should stay in The Hague and continue to stand trial at the ICC, while 33% disagree with it.

Duterte's confirmation of charges hearing is taking place from Feb. 23-27. In the proceedings, judges will see whether it should be turned into a full trial—a decision that could take up to 60 days.

The former president requested not to attend the hearing because of his non-recognition of the ICC’s jurisdiction over him.

He also denied the crimes he's accused of. "The claim that I oversaw a policy of extra-judicial killings is an outrageous lie. These claims have been peddled by my political opponents for many years and, as my nation knows, they are based on the word of individuals whose credibility has been thoroughly discredited," he said.

Duterte asserted that he is "old, tired, and frail," and would not want to attend legal proceedings that he would only "forget within minutes."

"I wish for this Court to respect my peace inside the cell it has placed me. I have accepted the fact that I could die in prison. But those that desire this fate for me should know that my heart and soul will always remain in the Philippines," he said.