THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I has selected the medical panel to assess the fitness of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to stand trial.
The Chamber announced its decision on Nov. 14, 2025, confirming that the medical team must submit its joint or individual reports on Duterte’s cognitive and physical status by Dec. 5, 2025.
The assessment is a crucial step required to move forward with the case, which was indefinitely postponed after the defense claimed Duterte was no longer fit to participate in proceedings related to the alleged crimes against humanity during his anti-drug campaign.
The selection process was marked by two significant challenges raised by Duterte’s defense team, prompting the ICC’s Prosecution Office to call for a comprehensive overhaul of the court’s expert vetting procedures.
An initially appointed neuropsychologist was quickly challenged after the defense raised that the expert had allegedly failed to disclose her suspension from professional practice for serious issues, including claims of sharing private patient information.
The replacement specialist, a brain expert, was also disqualified by the Chamber after the defense presented evidence of “very offensive remarks” the doctor had posted on social media.
The defense successfully argued that the nature of these public posts rendered the expert unfit to provide an impartial assessment.
The prosecution office subsequently demanded that the court use a “stricter checking process” when selecting experts in the future, citing the need for parties and participants to trust the impartiality of the Court’s accredited list.
Tight deadline set
Despite the delays caused by the challenges, the ICC maintained a rigorous timeline for the next steps:
Report Deadline: The medical experts must submit their full reports by December 5, 2025.
Response Deadline: Duterte’s lawyers, the prosecution, and the victims’ counsel must then file their comments on the medical report by December 12, 2025.
The court stressed that the deadline was unchanged, “Noting inter alia the availability of the experts composing the Panel.”
The findings of this report will be instrumental for the Pre-Trial Chamber in determining if the proceedings against the former President can resume.
