Following the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his national campaign against narcotics, known as the “war on drugs”, William Julié contributed to an article published by the International Bar Association (IBA) as a member of the IBA’s Criminal Law Committee and a lawyer listed on the List of Counsel before the ICC
He provided explanations in particular on the jurisdiction of the Court: although the Pre-Trial Chamber authorised the opening of an investigation into the events that took place in the Philippines between 2011 and 2019 in 2021, the country officially withdrew from the Rome Statute on 16 March 2019. Two judges of the Appeals Chamber, in a dissenting opinion, ruled that the preconditions for the Court’s jurisdiction under Article 12 of the Statute were no longer met after the withdrawal took effect.
Questions of jurisdiction are likely to play a central role in Rodrigo Duterte’s defence, and this case will be an important test of how the ICC interprets its status in a context of heightened international scrutiny.