He will be facing the pre-trial chamber almost one year after he was arrested in the Philippines.
In its decision on Monday, January 26, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I said that it found former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who is facing crimes against humanity case before the court, is “fit to take part in the pre trial proceedings.”
Duterte’s defense council, as per the court, had requested the indefinite adjournment of the proceedings, including the hearing on the confirmation of charges, based on its claims that Duterte was “not fit to participate in the proceedings.”
In line with that, the chamber said that it appointed a panel of three medical experts to “undertake a medical examination of Mr Duterte and received the Panel’s reports on 5 December 2025, on which the Prosecution, the Defense and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims submitted observations.”
“Having regard to the relevant legal principles, the medical assessment of the independent experts composing the Panel, and all of the relevant circumstances of the case, the Chamber was satisfied that Mr Duterte is able effectively to exercise his procedural rights and is therefore fit to take part in the pre-trial proceedings, which are thereby resumed,” it continued.
Thus, the first chamber of the ICC rejected the request made by Duterte’s camp and set the date of the commencement of the confirmation of charges hearing for Monday, February 23, 2026.
It explained, “The purpose of such hearing is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged.
Furthermore, “If one or more of the charges are confirmed, the case will be transferred to a Trial Chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial.”
SCHEDULES AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE PRE-TRIAL
In light of that decision, on Tuesday, January 27, the ICC ussued the schedule and directions for the confirmation of charges hearing, as well as specified instructions regarding measures that the medical reports have recommended to facilitate Duterte’s participation in the proceedings.
According to the Pre-Trial Chamber I, the date of February 16 has been set as the “time limit” for the parties submissions of evidence pursuant to rule 121(9) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (the ‘Rules’), and objections and observations pursuant to rule 122(3) of the Rules.
“With regard to the confirmation of charges hearing, the Chamber recalls the principle of fairness which encompasses the notion of equality of arms and requires that the parties be placed on equal footing, and that the Defen#e should have the last word, as prescribed under rule 122(8) of the Rules,” the court noted.
The chamber also underscored that the oral submissions of the parties and participants must be concise in nature, and repetition should be avoided in order to “ensure the expeditiousness and efficiency of the proceedings.”
Furthermore, the closing statements “may not be used to raise new arguments, but parties and participants may use such opportunity to respond to arguments and questions raised during the hearing.”
The Pre-Trial Chamber I also said that the prosecution’s submission of its case to the chamber in writing—when it submitted the Document Containing the Charges and the Pre-Confirmation Brief, the panel has decided to allot more time to the defense counsel.
Here are the distribution of time, as specified by the ICC.
- Prosecution: 30 minutes for opening statements, 2 hours and 30 minutes for submissions on the merits and 30 minutes for closing statements.
- CLRV: 30 minutes for opening statements, 1 hour and 30 minutes for submissions on the merits and 30 minutes for closing statements.
- Defense: 30 minutes for opening statements, 3 hours and 30 minutes for submissions on the merits and 30 minutes for closing statements.
The confirmation of charges hearing will be held starting Monday, February 23 and run until that week’s Friday, February 27.
REVIEW OF DETENTION
Meanwhile, in accordance to the rule 118(3) of the court’s rules, a hearing on the review of detention must be held at least once every year following the date of the suspect’s initial appearance, which took place on March 14, 2025 for the case of former President Duterte.
“The Chamber considers it expedient and appropriate to organise the yearly hearing on the review of Mr Duterte’s detention conjunction with the confirmation of charges hearing,” with the reveiw taking place on the tail end of the proceedings on February 27.
During that, the chamber will hear submissions from the Prosecution (20 minutes), the CLRV (15 minutes) and the Defense (20 minutes).
“Recalling the Appeals Chamber’s jurisprudence that a hearing under rule 118(3) of the Rules ‘is intended to be a hearing on the circumstances justifying continued detention in article 58(1) of the Statute the Chamber considers that oral submissions of the parties and participants will be sufficient for the purposes of its review of Mr Duterte’s detention,” it added.
“Therefore, it is not necessary to receive further submissions in writing, unless the parties wish to rely on new evidence, in which case this should be made available at least three days before the hearing on the review of detention,” furthered the Pre-Trial Chamber I.
SPECIFIC ARRANGEMENTS
Meanwhile, pursuant to the chamber’s orders, the Detention Centre’s Medical Officer and the panel of experts that carried out Duterte’s medical examination have provided observations regarding special measures and adjustments in his participation.
The ICC said it “adopts such recommendations, and decides inter alia” to these.
First, is to limit the number of days of hearings to no more than four per week, with one day with no hearings in the middle of the week; and second, provide breaks during the hearings every one hour, and limit the total duration of hearings per day to no more than three hours.
Regarding the remainder of the recommendations, which it noted the implementation falls within the responsibility of the registry, the chamber hereby ordered the registry to “ensure that all relevant recommended measures and adjustments are put in place throughout the hearings,” and that it should “liaise with the Defense as appropriate regarding such practical arrangements.“
Former President Rodrigo Duterte is being accused of crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, which were allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019—the period when the country was a member state of the court.
Specifically, he is said to have done it in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ campaign.
On March 12, 2025, Duterte was surrendered to the ICC after being arrested by the authorities of the Philippines that cooperated with the International Police Organization (Interpol) in accordance with the warrant of arrest.
Pre-Trial Chamber I is composed of Presiding Judge Julia Antoanella Motoc and Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera.