Duterte lawyer: There are grounds to throw case out

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Rodrigo Duterte’s lead lawyer said Sunday there was a “compelling” argument to throw out the International Criminal Court case against the former Philippines president before it even comes to trial.

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Nicholas Kaufman told AFP in an interview in The Hague he hoped to stop the case before the ICC confirms the charges against Duterte by arguing the court cannot exercise its jurisdiction.

He said the Philippines’ withdrawal from the court had become effective well before an investigation was authorized.

Duterte, 80, faces a charge of crimes against humanity for murder over his “war on drugs” that claimed the lives of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

British-Israeli lawyer Kaufman, 56, said: “Coming back to the jurisdictional point, obviously you don’t need to be the dean of a law faculty to realize that that’s going to be a huge issue at pre-trial.”

“I think that the jurisdictional argument is compelling as defense counsel. I believe that it should succeed and I would be hugely disappointed if it doesn’t succeed,” he added.

“We hope to persuade the judges pre trial that it (the court) cannot exercise its jurisdiction over the case. There won’t be a confirmation-of-charges hearing if the judges rule in our favor.”