ICC orders new clinical assessment of Philippines' former President Duterte in crimes against humanity case

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has directed a panel of medical experts to carry out a new clinical assessment of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to determine his fitness to stand trial in a case related to crimes against humanity, media reports said Sunday.

The ICC Trial Chamber III, in a 17-page decision released late Friday, formally reconstituted the panel of three experts that previously examined the former president, who faces crimes against humanity charges, the Phil Star newspaper reported.

The experts specialize in forensic psychiatry, geriatric and behavioral neurology and neuropsychology.

The panel will determine if Duterte has the "capacity necessary for the meaningful exercise of his procedural and fair trial rights at the trial phase," including understanding the charges, the purpose and consequences of the proceedings and the evidence presented against him.

The experts will submit their findings to the ICC Registry by Aug. 18.

The examination will also assess if the former president has the capacity to follow the course of the proceedings, testify or make unsworn statements and instruct his lawyers in the preparation and conduct of the defense.

Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, during the case's first status conference last month, ordered a new medical assessment of the former president, saying the previous finding only covered pre-trial proceedings.

Duterte, 80, who has been held at the ICC detention facility in The Hague since last March, faces three counts of crimes against humanity linked to drug war deaths between 2011 and 2019.