Former Philippine President arrested on ICC warrant

Context: Police arrested former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte at Manila's international airport following directives from the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding a case of crime against humanity. 

Relevance of the topic: Prelims: International Criminal Court; Crimes against Humanity. 

Major Highlights: 

• Duterte faces a charge of “the crime against humanity of murder” committed during his “war on drugs”.
  • He ran a brutal anti-drugs drive during his time in office from 2016 to 2022. 
  • Drug suspects were deprived of “due process under the law” and the crackdown allegedly killed around 30,000 people, including children.  
• The Philippines had quit the ICC in 2019, but the ICC maintains that it had jurisdiction over killings before the country’s pullout from ICC. 

International Criminal Court

• ICC is an international tribunal to address impunity for the gravest crimes threatening the global community. 
• It was established under the Rome Statute, a multilateral treaty adopted in 1998. Rome Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002 after ratification by 60 countries.
• ICC is an independent international organisation and is not part of the United Nations. 
• ICC has 18 judges who are elected by the Assembly of State Parties and have non-renewable 9-year terms.
• The seat of ICC is in The Hague, Netherlands.

Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court:

• ICC investigates and prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest crimes of international concern, as defined under the Rome Statute:
  1. Genocide
  2. War Crimes
  3. Crimes against Humanity
  4. Crime of Aggression

What are Crimes Against Humanity?

• The Rome Statute of the ICC includes the most extensive list of crimes against humanity. These can include:
  • Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery.
  • Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender or other grounds.
  • Enforced disappearance of persons, apartheid, other inhumane acts involving serious harm to physical or mental health.

Conditions for Exercising Jurisdiction: 

The ICC can exercise jurisdiction only under specific conditions:

1. Territorial or National Jurisdiction:
   • If the alleged crime occurred on the territory of a State Party.
   • If the alleged crime was committed by a national of a State Party.
2. UN Security Council (UNSC) Referral:
   • The UNSC can refer cases to the ICC, even if the crime occurred in a non-State Party.
3. Declaration of Acceptance:
   • A non-State Party can accept the ICC's jurisdiction by making a formal declaration.

Principle of Complementarity: 

• The ICC operates under the principle of complementarity, i.e., it acts as a court of last resort (seeks to complement, not replace, national courts). 
• The ICC can intervene only if the national judicial systems are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute crimes.

Parties to International Criminal Court: 

• As of March 2025, ICC has 125 member states. 
• However, countries such as India, China, USA, Russia etc. have not ratified the Rome Statute and are not members of ICC. Reasons for non-membership include concerns about sovereignty, potential misuse of the court, and conflicts with domestic laws.