Arrest and surrender of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to the ICC is a critical step towards justice
On 11 March 2025 the former president of the Republic of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested by the country’s authorities on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Mr Duterte was surrendered to the ICC on 12 March 2025. The International Bar Association’s (IBA) International Criminal Court and International Criminal Law (ICC & ICL) Programme welcomes the arrest and surrender of Mr Duterte as a pivotal development in the ICC’s investigation in the Philippines.
IBA Executive Director Mark Ellis commented: ‘The arrest of Rodrigo Duterte underscores the importance of the International Criminal Court for victims who will not be able to obtain justice from domestic legal systems. The role of the Court in ensuring accountability for atrocity crimes is more important than ever, and Mr Duterte’s arrest is yet another sign that international justice is critical in the eyes of victims, knowing that even fourteen years after the alleged crimes were committed, justice prevails. The IBA also applauds those states that cooperate for the implementation of ICC arrest warrants and other judicial decisions.’
On 15 September 2021, the Office of the Prosecutor was authorised by Pre-Trial Chamber I to investigate crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court allegedly committed between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 in the territory of the Philippines in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ campaign. ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I issued an arrest warrant for Mr Duterte on 7 March 2025, after determining that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Duterte bears criminal responsibility for murder as a crime against humanity, and that the arrest was necessary. The arrest warrant alleges that during the relevant period, Mr Duterte was the founder and head of the ‘Davao Death Squad’, the Mayor of Davao City, and the President of the Philippines, and that Mr Duterte used the direct perpetrators of the crimes as tools to commit the crimes.
Mr Duterte was apprehended by the authorities in the Philippines and transferred to the ICC’s custody. The ICC has commended the Philippines and the host state of The Netherlands for their cooperation in Mr Duterte’s arrest and transfer. An initial appearance to confirm the identity of the suspect and to ascertain that he understands the charges is set for 14 March.
While the Philippines is no longer a party to the Rome Statute, it remains subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC for crimes committed when it was a State Party. During Mr Duterte’s Presidency, on 17 March 2018 the Philippines deposited a notification of withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the ICC, which took effect as of 17 March 2019.
IBA ICC & ICL Programme Director Kate Orlovsky stated: ‘Now that Mr Duterte is in ICC custody, he will be accorded his full rights under the Rome Statute, including the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the right to counsel, and the right to challenge the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the case if he wishes to do so. Victims of these alleged crimes will also have the right to participate in the proceedings. Thanks to states cooperating to bring Mr Duterte before the ICC, those in the Philippines who have been calling for justice will finally get their day in Court.’
The IBA ICC & ICL Programme has consistently called on States Parties to respect their obligations to cooperate with the Court, in particular for the arrest and surrender of suspects of Rome Statute crimes. In 2024, the Programme convened ICC officials and experts to discuss state cooperation for arrest and surrender with the aim of establishing recommendations and lessons learned. Comprehensive recommendations on how ICC States Parties can strengthen cooperation with the Court and support its effective functioning are provided in the IBA ICC & ICL Programme publication Strengthening the International Criminal Court and the Rome Statute System: A Guide for States Parties.
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Contact: IBApressoffice@int-bar.org
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