International court set to decide on Philippines’ war on drugs case

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) will deliver its decision next week on the Philippine government’s appeal to stop an investigation into its so-called war on drugs.

The probe was earlier suspended after Manila said the ICC “had no jurisdiction over the country years after Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statue.”

The Philippines, however, sought time to conduct its own investigation in alleged extra-judicial killings during the war on drugs.

The Hague-based court’s pre-trial chamber had said it was “not satisfied” that the Philippines was undertaking relevant investigations.

In 2018, Duterte announced that his country would withdraw from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, effective March 2019. However, the court said it “retains jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes that occurred on the territory of the Philippines while it was a state party.”

In September 2021, the ICC opened a probe into alleged crimes against humanity committed between Nov. 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 during the war on drugs.

It halted the probe on Nov. 18, 2021 after Manila raised objections.

However, the ICC prosecutors requested that the investigations be reopened on June 24, 2022.

*Zulal Merve Bulut in Istanbul contributed to the story.