ICC says Rodrigo Duterte is fit for trial
An independent medical panel appointed by the International Criminal Court has unanimously ruled that former President Rodrigo Duterte is fit to participate in pre-trial proceedings.
The findings were reported in two separate court filings released on Thursday, Dec. 18, as published on their website. ICC as a court did not release a ruling on Duterte's capacity for trial.
Court records showed differing reactions by the ICC prosecution and Duterte's lawyers to the panel's assessment.
Duterte's counsel Nicholas Kaufman argued in a 12-page filing that the panel is questionable for their conflicting conclusions on key medical questions.
"The Defence submits that although the Panel considers Mr Duterte competent for the purpose of the pre-trial proceedings, the means by which each member of the Panel reached his conclusions stridently conflict with those of the others. Such internal inconsistencies undermine the overall weight of the general joint conclusion on fitness," his filing read.
Specifically, the defense pointed to what it called contradictions among the experts, with some finding evidence of certain medical conditions while others ruled them out.
For its part, the defense argues that Duterte has short-term memory, which impairs his ability to retain and process complex information necessary to participate in ICC proceedings, albeit capable of basic conversations and recalling events.
Duterte’s lawyers requested an indefinite delay in August, claiming he has cognitive impairments. In response, the court appointed its own independent experts to evaluate him.
On the other hand, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, in a 9-page filing, urged judges to accept the panel's conclusions as authoritative and put up a schedule for Duterte's confirmation hearing, which was postponed in September due to the fitness question.
The prosecution said Duterte is deliberately underperforming on cognitive tests.
"[It] strongly appears that Mr. Duterte is feigning cognitive impairments in an attempt to avoid a trial on the merits," Niang wrote.
The experts used specialized assessments to spot faking of mental problems, which include a "coin in hand test," a test for short-term memory, and a basic assessment for the moderate and severely mentally impaired. Results on these tests made all three panel members agree that Duterte was "an unreliable historian" on his own health.
They also found Duterte's complaints about cognitive decline as a mismatch to their observations in health examinations between October and November, the panel concluded that Duterte retains mental capacity to understand charges and evidence, grasp the proceedings' purpose, and give instructions to his lawyer.
The medical panel also recommended measures to help Duterte participate in hearings, which include hearing assistance devices and regular court breaks during court sessions.
Duterte was arrested in March this year for crimes against humanity in connection with his "war on drugs" in the Philippines.
On Nov. 28, the tribunal upheld Pre-Trial Chamber I's September decision to deny Duterte's request for interim release, unanimously rejecting grounds of appeal by his defense team. It stressed that the former president must remain in ICC custody to secure his appearance at trial and to prevent potential witness intimidation and interference in the investigation.
