Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have rejected a request from former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team to require expert verification reports for digital evidence obtained from open sources and user-generated content.
In a redacted public filing, ad interim Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang opposed the proposed amendment to the court’s E-Court Protocol, which would have required an “expert verification field” for digital materials, including evidence collected through crowdsourcing.
The prosecution described the proposal as “unreasonable, unnecessary, and against the interests of judicial efficiency.”
“Open source and user-generated evidence are extremely broad categories of documents,” Niang said.
He argued that the need for expert verification should instead be assessed individually based on the evidence being submitted.
“Whether open source or user-generated evidence requires an accompanying expert report should be determined on a case-by-case basis by the submitting party.”
The prosecution recognized the risks posed by digital manipulation and artificial intelligence-generated disinformation but cautioned against imposing a blanket expert-report requirement on every piece of open-source evidence.
Such a requirement could cover materials ranging from crowdsourced content to official United Nations documents and reports published by established news organizations, potentially placing an unnecessary burden on court proceedings.
“The Court must be vigilant in its assessment of open source evidence,” the prosecution said.
It added that safeguards should be appropriately balanced to avoid creating “significant burdens that unnecessarily hamper judicial efficiency and ultimately, risk delaying the start of the trial.”
Duterte is being prosecuted before Trial Chamber III over alleged crimes against humanity linked to his administration’s anti-drug campaign.