Duterte hires ICC veteran as case enters trial phase

MANILA  (May 14) — As former president Rodrigo Duterte heads deeper into his looming crimes against humanity trial before the International Criminal Court, his camp has turned to one of the world’s most seasoned international defense lawyers: British King’s Counsel Peter Haynes.

The legal shake-up comes at a critical point in the case after the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber confirmed three counts of crimes against humanity linked to Duterte’s bloody anti-drug campaign — a decision that pushes the proceedings firmly into the trial phase.

Court filings declassified this week revealed that outgoing lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman formally asked to withdraw on May 8 after his one-year engagement expired in March.

But behind the paperwork was a carefully managed handover.

According to the filing, members of the defense team met Duterte on May 7, where the former president officially released Kaufman and instructed the team to bring in Haynes — a lawyer known in international courts for handling politically explosive cases and winning against difficult odds.

Kaufman wrote that Haynes was already “ready, willing, and able” to immediately assume Duterte’s defense and would appear at the next ICC status conference on May 27.

The lawyer who overturned an ICC conviction

Inside international legal circles, Haynes is regarded as one of the ICC’s most battle-tested defense lawyers.

A senior barrister from St Philips Chambers in Birmingham, Haynes built his reputation through decades of appearances before international tribunals, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

His most prominent victory came in 2018 when he helped secure the acquittal of former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba before the ICC Appeals Chamber — one of the rare reversals of a major conviction in the court’s history.

The decision stunned legal observers and reshaped debates on command responsibility inside international criminal law.

Haynes later served two consecutive terms as president of the ICC Bar Association beginning in 2019, further strengthening his standing within the Hague legal community.

In 2024, the ICC also appointed him to represent fugitive rebel leader Joseph Kony in the court’s first-ever in absentia proceedings involving the Lord’s Resistance Army commander.

Trial battle intensifies

Haynes’ entry signals a sharper transition in Duterte’s legal strategy — from pre-trial maneuvering to a potentially prolonged courtroom fight over allegations tied to the former president’s anti-drug crackdown.

While Kaufman focused largely on jurisdictional disputes and preliminary arguments, Haynes is widely viewed as a courtroom tactician experienced in high-stakes international litigation.

In his withdrawal filing, Kaufman expressed confidence in the transition, saying Duterte’s representation would remain effective under Haynes, whom he described as possessing “a wealth of experience at the International Criminal Court.”

For both Duterte’s supporters and families of drug war victims, attention now turns to the May 27 status conference, where Haynes is expected to make his first formal appearance as the new face of Duterte’s ICC defense.