A Win for International Law? Former President of Philippines Arrested by the ICC

The ICC arrested Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duerte for crimes against humanity. (Courtesy: Store norske leksikon)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrested former Philippine president Rodrigo Roa Duterte on March 11, 2025, for crimes against humanity of murder. A warrant for his arrest was issued on March 7, and Mr. Duterte is currently staying in a detention cell in the Netherlands. 

Duterte is being tried for the murders he committed as a part of his “war on drugs” from 2011 to 2019. According to the ICC, under Duterte, tens of thousands of people were killed without a fair trial for their involvement in drug sales in the Philippines. Many were killed by vigilantes on motorcycles, and when questioned, the government would state that those killed were “drug suspects” who resisted arrest. 

Supporters of Duterte protested against his arrest, stating that since Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019, he is not subject to legal action by the court. However, the ICC claims that it still has the jurisdiction to judge crimes that happened during the period when the Philippines was a part of the organization. 

The arrest of Duterte is seen as a major win for the ICC, which has previously issued unsuccessful arrest warrants for Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The ICC is a “court of last resort” formed by the Rome Statute and is responsible for trying people for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in cases where a country is unable or unwilling to do so. Many major countries, including the U.S., Russia, and China, have not signed the agreement claiming that the powers of the ICC are a breach of sovereignty and can be used for political motives. Thus, the ICC often has trouble enforcing justice due to a lack of cooperation with countries and is commonly dismissed as a failure. However, with the arrest and subsequent trial of Duterte, there is hope that the ICC can showcase the strength of international law in bringing even the most powerful to justice.

Supporters of Duterte were also suspicious of how smoothly Duterte was arrested and accused Ferdinand Marcos, the current president of the Philippines, of aiding the ICC for political motives. They believe that the political feud between the Marcos and the Duterte families is the reason why Marcos willingly cooperated with the ICC to arrest Duterte. President Marcos denied such allegations and claimed to only be cooperating with the ICC because of the country’s commitment to Interpol, which delivered the ICC warrant.

As he was being transported to his prison cell, Duterte stood by his actions, saying that he helped make the Philippines safer and more peaceful. The next step in the trial of Duterte, the hearing of the confirmation of charges, is set to take place in September of this year.