ICC rejects Duterte bid for expert verification of evidence

The International Criminal Court has formally turned down a legal bid from former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's defense team that sought mandatory expert verification reports for all open-source and user-generated digital evidence. Judges warned that introducing such an obligation right before proceedings commence would cause an unnecessary postponement of courtroom arguments, according to reporting published by Philstar.

Trial Chamber III issued a seven-page ruling on September 28, 2026, declining the defense proposal to amend the E-Court Protocol. As noted by Philstarlife, the decision was handed down by judges Joanna Korner, Keebong Paek, and Nicolas Guillou. The panel stated that forcing an expert verification field into the court's evidence-management system — referred to in submissions covered by DZRH News as the NUIX system — would improperly reverse the established division of responsibilities. Under current court directions highlighted by VERA Files, the defense bears the primary responsibility to identify and challenge the admissibility of specific evidence first, leaving prosecutors to determine whether supporting expert material is necessary.

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The defense team, headed by British lawyer Peter Haynes, argued that the prosecution's disclosures were inundated with duplicates, poor-quality copies, and irrelevant files. According to details reported by Jen, the defense asserted that reviewing the vast volume of digital items and documents risks flooding the record with unreliable material. Prosecutors countered that a blanket requirement for every open-source item, especially those originating from reputable government websites, news organizations, and human rights groups, was unwarranted and that defense claims regarding the state of disclosures were exaggerated.

While rejecting the verification mandate, the Chamber approved a counter-request from the prosecution. As detailed by VERA Files, the court ordered the inclusion of a uniform resource locator metadata field to track where open-source items were found online. The ICC Registry was directed to implement the amended E-Court Protocol by October 2, 2026. This administrative update arrives in advance of the trial schedule, following an in-person appearance by the 81-year-old former president during a status conference on September 16, 2026, as noted by Philstar. Jen reported that Duterte remains detained in The Hague following his arrest in Pasay City on March 11, 2025, and subsequent transfer into international custody.

The ruling leaves a separate defense motion unresolved. As outlined by Jen and Philstar, the defense previously filed a request asking the chamber to cap the prosecution's evidence list at 10,000 items and streamline the swollen record. The broader proceedings stem from crimes against humanity charges connected to deadly operations during Duterte's tenure as Davao City mayor and subsequent presidency, a mandate confirmed by Pre-Trial Chamber I in April 2026 despite persistent jurisdictional challenges from the defense, according to Jen and Philstarlife.

Judges previously emphasized that the parties must avoid wholesale dumping of evidence and select only the best material when multiple items establish the same fact. The defense argued that reviewing the entire expanded record requires extensive person-hours, which compromises the preparation phase. The chamber maintained that existing mechanisms adequately handle disputes over admissibility without necessitating an automatic verification filter for every piece of digital media.

The unfolding pre-trial disputes underscore the logistical hurdles of managing massive digital evidence bundles in international tribunals. Prosecutors maintain that open-source documentation from verified public institutions carries inherent reliability, whereas defense advocates insist that granular scrutiny is vital for safeguarding a fair trial.

What to Watch Next

• Implementation of the amended E-Court Protocol and URL metadata field by the ICC Registry by October 2, 2026.
• Future chamber rulings addressing the separate defense request to reduce the overall case record and limit the prosecution's evidence items.
• Preparations leading up to the scheduled start of the trial on November 30, 2026.