LEGAL counsel Nicholas Kaufman for former President Rodrigo Duterte said the goal is to release the mayor-elect from the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention “as soon as possible,” the process is complex and demands significant diplomatic groundwork.
Responding to inquiries about Duterte’s 73 days in detention and the timeline for his potential release, Kaufman explained that ICC procedures differ significantly from conventional domestic criminal cases.
“As far as I’m concerned that is always the soon as possible,” Kaufman said in an interview on Monday, May 26, “As I have told you many times before there are certain preconditions which has to be met before an individual can be released by the ICC. It’s not like one of the criminal cases where you can just post a bail and just can get out and go home.”
Kaufman elaborated on a key requirement for release from ICC custody. “No, in order for someone to be released here there has to be a willing state party capable of receiving him onto his territory,” he explained.
He further emphasized the challenging nature of this process. “So, what we are looking at is a long process and something which requires a certain degree of diplomacy,” Kaufman added, hinting at the intricate negotiations that would be necessary for Duterte’s repatriation.
Duterte’s detention stems from the ICC’s investigation into alleged crimes against humanity during his “war on drugs” campaign.
The Philippines officially withdrew from the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, in 2019, a move that his legal team has argued should negate the court’s jurisdiction over him.
