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Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will remain in International Criminal Court custody after appeals judges ruled on April 22, 2026 that the ICC can keep hearing his case and rejected his request for immediate release, according to The Japan Times’ Reuters report. The ruling keeps intact a lower-chamber decision and preserves the ICC’s path forward in the case described on the court’s own Duterte case page.
Key developments
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Appeals judges said the ICC still has jurisdiction over alleged crimes tied to Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute. Reuters reported that the judges found a preliminary examination had already begun before the withdrawal took effect, which was enough to preserve the court’s authority.
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The ruling rejects the defense effort to halt proceedings and to secure Duterte’s unconditional release. Reuters, via BusinessWorld, said Duterte was not in court when the decision was read.
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Duterte has been in ICC detention in The Hague since March 2025 after being surrendered to the court, according to the ICC’s official case background. The court says he is accused in a case centered on alleged crimes against humanity connected to killings during the drug war.
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Prosecutors allege Duterte created, funded and armed death squads to target suspected drug offenders. Duterte has long denied ordering unlawful killings and has maintained that police were told to use force only in self-defense, as summarized in Reuters coverage carried by The Japan Times.
What to watch
The immediate next question is procedural rather than political: how quickly the ICC moves the case toward its next formal stage after the jurisdiction dispute has now been rejected on appeal. The official ICC case page says Duterte remains in custody and tracks upcoming proceedings and court records.
What remains unresolved is not the court’s jurisdiction, but whether prosecutors can ultimately prove the allegations in full. Tuesday’s ruling did not decide guilt or innocence. It decided that the case can continue, leaving the substance of the charges for the court process ahead.
Sources
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