British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, the lead counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team, said they are preparing “a strong defense” for the former president’s acquittal in the crimes against humanity of murder case before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Former president Rodrigo Duterte and his British-Israeli lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman (Screengrab from ICC, ABS-CBN News video)
In a chance interview with reporters after a meeting with Duterte in The Hague on Tuesday, March 18 (Netherlands time), the lawyer shared that the former president is “in good spirits and looking forward to conducting his defense.”
“There will be petitions, obviously. Once again, it’s not for me to comment on the defense strategy at this moment in time,” he added when asked about any petitions the defense will file before the Sept. 23 scheduled hearing.
One of the things that the defense plans to raise is under Article 59 of the Rome Statute.
He said Duterte was “completely denied all his rights in the Philippines,” noting “that would obviously be a argument in the course of this defense.”
Article 59 of the Rome Statute outlines that a person subject to an ICC arrest warrant “shall be brought promptly before the competent judicial authority in the custodial State,” which will evaluate the arrest.
But legal experts said that the Philippines is not bound by Article 59 because it is no longer a member of the ICC after Duterte officially withdrew from it in 2019.
Confident of acquittal
Kaufman, who said he had “been involved in a quite few cases” before the ICC, also expressed confidence that the defense team has a strong enough argument for the former president’s acquittal.
“I’m very confident of the strongest defense possible and I’m confident he will be acquitted indeed, even at earliest stage possible,” he assured.
Asked if he would be able to bring Duterte back to the Philippines, the lawyer responded, “I certainly hope so.”
Kaufman shared that he would have access to the former chief executive and promised him that he will be there every day while he’s in The Hague, where Duterte is currently detained.
“I’m available to visit before the (former) president as long as I’m here, (and) as long as I’m allowed to do so. I have promised him that I would come every day that I’m in The Hague,” he said.
Kaufman is a veteran international lawyer who have handled high-profile cases, such as those of Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former Congolese vice president, Aisha Gaddafi, the daughter of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and Maxim Mokom Gwaka, an alleged militia leader from the Central African Republic.
