By Audrey Morallo
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said that the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction on the crimes he was accused of committing, his first reaction to the communication filed by a Philippine lawyer at the Hague moving for his investigation and possible prosecution.
In an interview with reporters, Duterte said that one of the fundamental principles of the Philippine criminal code is territoriality. This means that an accused can be prosecuted only in the territory where the alleged crime was committed, according to Duterte.
“The fundamental thing in our Revised Penal Code is territoriality. You can only be prosecuted in the country where you committed the crime,” the president said. “What are the features of our criminal system? One is territoriality.”
According to the ICC, it has jurisdiction if "the crimes were committed by a State Party national, or in the territory of a State Party, or in a State that has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court." The Philippines ratified the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court in 2011.
"The Philippines, a democracy that champions international law and the rule of law, views being party to the Rome Statute of the ICC as a vital part of the on-going global campaign to end impunity and violence against individuals and to further strengthen a rules-based international system, specifically in relation to international human rights law and humanitarian law," Philippine Permanent Representative Ambassador Libran Cabactulan said when the Philippines deposited the instruments of ratification of the Rome Statute that year.
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