Victim Admission Proposal Submitted for Rody Trial

A proposal for the victim admission process in detained former president Rodrigo Duterte's crimes against humanity case has been submitted by the registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

- By JANVIC MATEO

Victim participation is a significant feature of ICC processes that would allow families of drug war victims to express their views and concerns.

In a 15-page submission to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, the ICC Registry proposed the adoption of the standard "A-B-C Approach."

Victims applying to participate in the proceedings will be classified into three groups: Group A for applicants who "clearly qualify" as victims, Group B for those who "clearly do not qualify" as victims and Group C for those "whom the Registry could not make a clear determination for any reason."

Applications belonging to Group A and B would be transmitted to the pre-trial chamber, while Group C applications are transmitted to the prosecution, defense and legal representative for their observations.

"Once the parties' observations have been received, the Chamber assesses the Group C applications individually and determines whether the victims concerned shall be admitted to participate or not," the registrar's submission read.

"The Chamber (will) ultimately authorize or reject an applicant to participate in the proceedings," it noted.