ICC Day 3 Hearings: Kaufman Says Defence Targeting Charges Only, Disputes Meaning of “Neutralise”

The HAGUE—The defence team of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte told judges on Wednesday that its arguments at the confirmation of charges hearing are directed solely at the prosecution’s legal document, not at victims, while also disputing the prosecution’s interpretation of key language attributed to Duterte.

Appearing before the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court, lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman stressed that the defence’s submissions were confined to testing the prosecution’s case under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court standard required at the confirmation stage.

“The defence does not disrespect the soul of any deceased person, nor does it make light of the loss of life. Any criticism made by us today will not be levelled at the loved ones,” Kaufman told the Chamber.

He added that the defence’s critique was limited to the prosecution’s charging document.

“The defence’s criticism will be confined only to the prosecution’s document containing the charges which govern these proceedings, not as well reported in the media.”

Kaufman also reminded the court that the defence is not required at this stage to offer its own account of events.

“It’s not the defence’s role to give an alternative narrative, nor to give an explanation to the facts or figures presented by the prosecution.”

A key point of contention during the session concerned the prosecution’s reliance on statements in which Duterte allegedly used the term “neutralise” in relation to criminal suspects. Kaufman argued that the word had been mischaracterised and did not amount to an instruction to kill.

According to the defence, the term “neutralise” was not designed or intended as an order of killing, but rather must be interpreted within the broader operational and rhetorical context in which it was used. Kaufman maintained that the prosecution’s reading of the term imposed a meaning that was neither explicit nor legally sustainable.

He further criticised what he described as selective domestic media coverage of the case.

“If there is one thing that I have learned from the domestic media coverage of this case, it is the journalists and their editors have a tendency to fixate on the salacious elements of the person’s speeches while ignoring the less interesting parts.”

The hearing forms part of the ICC’s proceedings to determine whether there are “substantial grounds to believe” that Duterte bears criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity in connection with his administration’s anti-drug campaign. Judges will issue a written decision in due course on whether the charges are confirmed and the case proceeds to trial.