THE legal team of former president Rodrigo Duterte has told the Pre-Trial Chamber 1 of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that it will no longer pursue its earlier petition seeking to disqualify Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from Duterte’s crimes against humanity case,
In a three-page submission dated August 15,
lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman told the court that they “will not impede the smooth running of (court) proceedings by seeking the disqualification of the Prosecutor (Khan).”
Khan is currently on leave due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
The Duterte camp, in a 14-page filing dated August 7, has earlier asked that Khan “immediately and without delay” be disqualified from any further role in the case of the former president, saying that he “failed to disclose a conflict of grievous of interest.”
They said they will discuss the extent of Khan’s supposed “contamination of the integrity of the investigation” against Duterte during the confirmation of charges hearing, which is set on September 23.
“For the time being, however, the Appeals Chamber is requested to disqualify Mr. Khan from resuming a role in the case against Mr. Duterte should he surmount his current difficulties,” they said.
They said their request to disqualify the lead prosecutor is grounded in “an irreconcilable conflict of interest arising from Mr. Khan’s former (redacted) representation (redacted) of victims of an alleged policy of extrajudicial drug-related killings in the Philippines and his subsequent role as ICC Chief Prosecutor, charged with overseeing a fair and impartial investigation of that very same policy of killings.”
They said that as Chief Prosecutor who oversaw the investigation in the Philippines, Khan actively sought exculpatory evidence, which they said could cast doubt on the testimony provided by the same people whose interests Khan has been charged to protect.
But in its submission last Friday, Kaufman admitted an “inadvertent oversight” on the part of the defense with regards its previous manifestations before the court.
He said that contrary to their earlier manifestation that Khan did not disclose his previous working relationship with one of the victims of Duterte’s drug killings, “to his credit, the Prosecutor immediately contacted Counsel (Khan), after the latter’s appointment, to brief him on the matter at hand.”
“The Defense has noted the Prosecutor’s voluntary notifications and the distinction that he makes between his involvement in the situation and in the present case for the purpose of Article 42 (7) of the Rome Statute,” he said.
He added that one of the individuals that he previously mentioned in his prior manifestation is “now slated to become a witness against Mr. Duterte, whereas the other is to be interviewed.”
“Counsel fully accepts that the neglect to mention this matter in the first notification resulted from an inadvertent oversight,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman said that with this, the defense team has “no ostensible reason double the Prosecutor’s impartiality or his assertions that he is not conflicted on account of his former representation of (redacted),” adding that “there is no reason to believe that the Prosecutor will not act in accordance with his duties to investigate exonerating circumstances to fully respect the rights of Duterte and, overall, to act fairly.”
“Accordingly, and despite the mandatory nature of Article 42 (7) of the Rome Statute, the Defense, for its part, will not impede the smooth running of proceedings by seeking the disqualification of the Prosecutor,” Kaufman said.
Article 42 (7) prohibits the Prosecutor from participating in any matter in which his impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground.
The 80-year old Duterte is facing crimes against humanity charges before the ICC in connection with the brutal anti-drive crackdown of his administration, that local and international human rights groups said killed thousands of innocent victims.
