THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court (ICC) Registry submitted an amended E-Court Protocol on October 1 in the ongoing proceedings against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, meeting the October 2 deadline designated by Trial Chamber III.
The filing, signed by Division of Judicial Services Director Marc Dubuisson on behalf of ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler, confirms compliance with judicial directives.
“The Registry hereby submits the amended Protocol, as annex to the present submission, in compliance with the Chamber’s Decision,” the Registry said in its filing.
The updated protocol comes after the Chamber granted a prosecution request on September 28 to incorporate a URL metadata field within the court’s electronic discovery platform, Nuix Discover.
The field aims to streamline the identification of source web addresses corresponding to open-source evidence as captured.
Concurrently, the Chamber denied a defense application seeking mandatory expert verification reports for all open-source and user-generated material. Judges noted that such a broad requirement could prove redundant and risk postponing the trial.
Originally proposed by the Registry on June 17, the E-Court Protocol was formally adopted on June 19 to establish conduct directives for the trial.
Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity over alleged extrajudicial killings during his anti-drug campaign as mayor of Davao City and president of the Philippines.
The trial is set to commence on November 30.