MANILA — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has assured that its investigation into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody anti-drug campaign will continue uninterrupted despite the disqualification of Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from handling the Philippine case.
“This disqualification has no impact on the ongoing case against Mr. Duterte,” ICC spokesperson Fadi el Abdallah said in a statement, stressing that the probe remains on track under new leadership.
According to Abdallah, Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang has assumed supervision of the investigation. “The work of the Office of the Prosecutor on the situation related to the Philippines is led by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang,” he said.
Khan’s removal was ordered by the ICC Appeals Chamber on October 15 after it was discovered that he had previously been involved in submitting information — known as an Article 15 communication — related to alleged crimes committed under Duterte’s administration before becoming chief prosecutor. The communication was transmitted to then-Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on June 29, 2018.
The Appeals Chamber ruled that while there was no proof of actual bias on Khan’s part, his prior involvement created “an objectively reasonable appearance of bias” that could call his impartiality into question.
“However, it concluded that a number of factors may give rise to an objectively reasonable appearance of bias in the eyes of a reasonable observer, such that they would conclude that the Prosecutor could be expected to have formed an opinion on the case against Mr. Duterte during his involvement in the Article 15 communication that, objectively, could adversely affect his required impartiality,” Abdallah explained.
Despite the change in leadership, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor emphasized that its “independent and impartial investigation into alleged Rome Statute crimes in relation to the Situation in the Philippines is ongoing.”
It added that a “multi-disciplinary team under Niang’s supervision” is now managing all aspects of the probe, including possible applications for arrest warrants.
“The Office has been able to advance the case against Mr. Duterte solely on the strength of independently gathered evidence, and information collected from a wide range of sources, including interviews with witnesses, information from States, international partners, and civil society, as well as publicly available information,” the ICC statement said.
“The victims and survivors in the Philippines situation deserve justice and accountability. The Office’s activities in this case will continue, contributing to ensuring that justice is pursued impartially and independently,” it added./PN
