Duterte trial: ICC rejects victims' request to use Tagalog in opening statement

MANILA, Philippines — Judges at the International Criminal Court have refused a request to use Tagalog during opening statements in the trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

During the final status conference on Monday, November 2, lawyers for the victims had asked if they could deliver their remarks in Tagalog for about 15 to 20 minutes to be better understood by other victims who will be following the proceedings in the Philippines. 

"For them, it's also important to listen to how we convey to the Chamber what they narrated to us and their experiences, and they relate and connect much more if that is done in Tagalog," Paolina Massidda, principal counsel of the Office of Public Counsel for Victims, said. 

Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said the Rome Statute, the court’s founding treaty, sets English and French as the court’s working languages. Using any other language would require a "really exceptional reason," he said.

Such requests are becoming “a recurring theme” across ICC trials, Korner commented.

"One of the problems is that the moment we start to do this, then applications come in and it becomes much more complicated and more expensive if we accede to it," Korner said.

Korner also noted that not all the victims speak Tagalog and that the proceedings would be interpreted. 

She said she would ask the court’s registry whether a Tagalog translation or transcript could be published on the ICC website.

Duterte did not attend Monday’s hearing, the last status conference before his trial opens November 30. 

Korner said he had been excused “exceptionally” because the session was not expected to be long. 

Once the trial begins, Duterte will be expected to attend every day.

The chamber also shortened its sitting day for the first weeks of the trial.

Hearings will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hague time, with a break after every hour, to accommodate medical experts’ advice regarding Duterte.