‘Rome Statute violates Phl charter’

The Rome Statute, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court (ICC), contains provisions that violate the Philippine constitution, President Duterte’s chief legal counsel has said.

Lawyer Salvador Panelo claimed that under the Rome Statute, heads of state cannot invoke immunity from prosecution – something that he said goes against the Philippine Charter which states that a sitting President cannot be sued.

“You know, I’ve read the Rome Statute and it grossly violates our çonstitution. Even if we push for it, if it becomes enforceable, it would become unconstitutional,” Panelo told radio dwFM in a recent interview.

“There’s a provision there that says you cannot use the immunity provision of a country. That cannot be because under our Constitution, you cannot sue the President during the tenure of his office,” he added.

Panelo also claimed that under the treaty, ratified by the Philippine Senate in 2011, the prosecutor can make an appeal after the accused is acquitted.

“That is not allowed in our system because you cannot sue the accused twice over,” he added.

Panelo reiterated that the ICC cannot have jurisdiction over the Philippines because the country’s legal system is working.

The ICC announced in February that it would conduct a preliminary examination of the deaths tied to President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs. The international tribunal was acting on a communication by lawyer Jude Sabio, who claimed Duterte was behind the deaths of more than 7,000 suspected drug personalities.

Duterte responded by withdrawing the Philippines’ ratification of the Rome Statute and accusing officials of the ICC and the United Nations of making “outrageous attacks” against him.

He also claimed that the ICC is being used as a “political tool” against his administration.

The Duterte administration said the Rome Statute is not binding on the Philippines because it was not published in the Official Gazette, the government’s official publication.

Some legal experts dispute this, saying publication is not needed for a treaty to take effect.

Duterte has also urged other countries that ratified the Rome Statute to abandon the ICC, which he described as “disrespectful.” He also claimed that the Rome Statute was sponsored by the European Union to make up for its previous atrocities.