ICC forms trial chamber to handle Duterte’s case

MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has officially constituted the Trial Chamber that will handle the crimes against humanity case of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

The Trial Chamber will be composed of Judges Joanna Korner from the United Kingdom, Keebong Paek from South Korea and Nicolas Guillou of France, according to the April 24 decision of the ICC presidency released yesterday.

The decision was signed by ICC president Tomoko Akane, first vice president Rosario Salvatore Aitala and second vice president Reine Alapini-Gansou.

According to the ruling, the assignment of the judges was based on the current and anticipated overall judicial workload of the court and the need to expedite proceedings.

It was also based on the judges’ “previous involvement in cases, as well as experience and expertise.”

“Promptly after it is constituted, the Trial Chamber will hold status conferences, confer with the parties and participants in order to set the date of the commencement of the trial and adopt the procedures necessary to facilitate the fair and expeditious conduct of the proceedings,” the ICC said in a statement.