The Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) urged the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC I) to reject former president Rodrigo Duterte’s request to delay its decision on the defense’s jurisdiction challenge.

In a filing dated July 24, Principal Counsel Paolina Massidda asked the Chamber to dismiss the defense’s request to defer the decision on its jurisdiction challenge, saying that it “lacks any proper procedural foundation” and is “irreconcilable with the interests of victims.”

“The reasons advanced by the Defence evince a separate matter that has no bearing on the question of the Court’s jurisdiction over the crimes committed in the Republic of the Philippines during the so-called ‘war on drugs,'” the eight-page document read.

“As such, the Jurisdictional Challenge profoundly touches upon the interests of victims and should be adjudicated promptly in the absence of a formal withdrawal of said Challenge by the Defence,” it added.

The former president’s defense team has challenged the legal basis for continuing the proceedings against the former chief executive.

In a previous filing, the defense team argued that the the ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the case because “the Philippines was no longer a State Party to the Rome Statute at that critical point in time.”

The OPCV said that the chamber’s ruling does not only affect Duterte, but also the victims of his alleged crimes.

“Victims have a right to legal certainty with respect to the Court’s jurisdiction over said crimes. It would not be in the interests of justice to effectively abort the current deliberations only to re-litigate the matter at a later stage or if and when another suspect is brought before the Court,” it added.

It also warned that delaying the decision on the jurisdiction challenge will impact future cases.

“Hence, the interests of victims, and ultimately, the interests of justice demand that the Chamber dispose of the matter without interruption, delay or indefinite suspension,” the OPCV said in support of the prosecution’s earlier response that the “prompt ruling on jurisdiction” will promote efficiency of the proceedings.

“Justice demands that such rulings are not subject to undue delay. Curtailing victims’ rights on the basis of a mere possibility that the Defence may raise [REDACTED] would not only be unprecedented and legally unsound, but ultimately prejudicial to the victims exercising their statutory rights before this Court, setting a dangerous precedent in this regard,” the OPCV furthered.

In a filing dated July 22, the defense requested the PTC I to postpone its decision on the jurisdiction challenge because of the supposed “tardy supply” of information.