Duterte Extradited to the Hague on ICC Arrest Warrant. What Does this Mean for Other ICC Arrest Warrants?
Former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in the nation’s capital Manilla on Tuesday on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for crimes against humanity. He has been extradited to the Hague in the Netherlands to face trial. The charges relate to his war on drugs during his Presidency. It is highly uncommon for a nation to arrest a former leader on an ICC arrest warrant, add to this the fact the Phillippines isn’t a current member of the ICC after Duterte himself withdrew the country from the court in 2019.
Duterte’s arrest and extradition represents a backflip by current President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr who previously stated his government would not cooperate with any investigation or recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC. Bongbong Marcus was elected President in 2022 on a unity ticket, with Duterte’s daughter Sara serving as his Vice President. This alliance crumbled last year with Sara Duterte impeached by the Congress of the Philippines for misusing government funds.
Rodrigo Duterte’s unsealed ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity is for extrajudicial killings during his infamous war on drugs during his Presidency and before as Mayor of Davao City. The official death toll from his war on drugs according to police records is 7,000 though human rights groups estimate the death toll to be more than 30,000.
The arrest and extradition of Duterte to the Hague to face trial is a big win for the ICC in its quest to achieve international judicial legitimacy. What does Dutetre’s arrest mean for the ICC’s other outstanding arrest warrants?
The Trump Administration recently imposed economic and travel restrictions against the ICC over its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Isreal-Gaza war.
The United States and Israel are not members of the ICC and don’t recognise its jurisdiction. France and Poland who are members of the ICC have refused to recognise nor enforce the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Gallant.
The jurisdiction of the ICC to prosecute an individual requires either territorial jurisdiction in a country that is a state party to the ICC and a signatory to the statute of Rome or personal jurisdiction must exist, meaning that the individual must be a citizen of a state that is a party to the ICC. The arrest warrant against Duetre only covers his alleged crimes before he withdrew the Philippines from the ICC. So although Duetre’s arrest and extradition is a big scalp for the ICC. It is not does not expand the jurisdiction or the legitimacy of the ICC any further.
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