READ: Duterte lawyers seek limits to victims’ role in trial The PTC supported the proposal by the ICC Registry, which provides administrative and judicial support to the court, to consider multiple government IDs in the absence of a passport or a national ID for individuals to be identified as victims in the case against Duterte. “This information … already ensures the ‘reliability of the identity verification process and significantly reduces the risk of fraud.’” Defense objection Duterte’s legal team opposed the Registry’s proposal, saying that such a wide range of IDs could lead to “misidentification, double-counting and inclusion of false victims.” But human rights lawyers clapped back, saying that the defense was “out of touch” and “ignorant” of the plight of the thousands of victims who are mostly poor. “This includes all the evidence it intends to rely upon at the confirmation of charges hearing, including the totality of the witness statements and their translations, the exculpatory material that it has identified thus far, and the material falling under Rule 77 of the Rules,” it said. “Any items of evidence submitted after that date will not be taken into account for the purposes of the confirmation of charges hearing.” Rule 77 of the ICC Rules of Procedure and Evidence sets the rules in the “inspection” by the defense of evidence in the possession or under the control of the prosecution. Limited scope The PTC, however, pointed out in Thursday’s decision that the “prosecution should only disclose evidence that is of true relevance to the case and capable of supporting a particular factual allegation.” It also reminded both the prosecution and the defense that the confirmation hearing “is of a limited scope and should not delve into a mini-trial.” The prosecution is looking into the killings in Duterte’s war on drugs from Nov. Read Full Story
