Duterte's lawyer says there are grounds to throw ICC case out

The lead lawyer for Mr Rodrigo Duterte said on March 30 that there was a "compelling" argument to throw out the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against the former Philippine president before it even comes to trial.

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THE HAGUE - The lead lawyer for Mr Rodrigo Duterte said on March 30 that there was a "compelling" argument to throw out the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against the former Philippine president before it even comes to trial.

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

He said the Philippines' withdrawal from the court became effective well before an investigation was authorised.

Mr 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.

Mr Kaufman, 56, said: "Coming back to the jurisdictional point, obviously you don't need to be the dean of a law faculty to realise that that's going to be a huge issue at pre-trial.

"I think that the jurisdictional argument is compelling as defence counsel. I believe that it should succeed, and I would be hugely disappointed if it doesn't succeed."