Follow-Up: ICC Rejects Tagalog Request in Duterte Trial: Opening Statements Must Be Entirely in English
The Hague — At the fifth and final status conference in the Duterte case on November 2, the International Criminal Court's Trial Chamber III rejected a request by the common legal representatives of victims: their principal counsel, Paolina Massidda, had asked to quote portions of victims' accounts in Tagalog for about 15 to 20 minutes of the opening statement, saying the accounts would resonate more with victims in their own language.
Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said the Rome Statute designates English and French as the court's working languages, and that 'really exceptional' reasons would be needed to depart from that rule. 'For a number of reasons, we are going to follow what the Rome Statute has mandated, and it must all be in English,' she said. The chamber noted that not all victims speak Tagalog and that interpretation is provided during proceedings; Korner said she would ask the court's registry whether a Tagalog translation or transcript could be made available on the court's website.
The same conference settled the trial's schedule: the trial of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte opens on November 30, he will be expected to attend every day once it begins, and, on medical experts' advice, sitting days will run in four one-hour sessions with breaks in between until the court's Christmas recess.
Related: ICC: Duterte Trial Opens November 30, With Daily Attendance Required
Source: International Criminal Court
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：菲律宾前总统杜特尔特2024年10月出席参议院蓝带委员会听证（资料图）。照片：菲律宾参议院，经 Wikimedia Commons（公共领域）。 / Photo: Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte at a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing in October 2024 (file photo). Photo by the Senate of the Philippines, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
- 2026-11-02ICC: Duterte Trial Opens November 30, With Daily Attendance Required
- 2026-11-02Follow-Up: ICC Rejects Tagalog Request in Duterte Trial: Opening Statements Must Be Entirely in EnglishThis story
