
DAVAO CITY – Presiding International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Iulia Motoc, a Romanian national, was appointed to the ICC on March 11, 2024, for a term lasting until March 19, 2033. She is currently assigned to the Pre-Trial Division, serving in Chamber I and Chamber III.
Judge Motoc is the presiding judge in the pre-trial case of Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Before her tenure at the ICC, Judge Motoc served as a Judge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) from 2013 to 2023 and was also a Professor of International Law. She previously held the role of UN Special Rapporteur for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she reported on crimes against humanity and war crimes. Additionally, she is a distinguished member of the Institut de Droit International.
Judge Motoc has an extensive judicial background. As a Judge at the Constitutional Court of Romania (2010–2013) and later at the ECHR, she handled complex and high-profile cases involving corruption, sexual violence, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Some notable cases she presided over include Drelingas v. Lithuania and interstate cases such as Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, Chiragov and Others v. Armenia, and Sargsyan v. Azerbaijan.
Her experience extends beyond the courtroom. Judge Motoc has worked extensively with the United Nations, having served as a member and Vice President of the UN Human Rights Committee, where she examined issues related to the right to life, enforced disappearances, and mass human rights violations, many of which fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC.
She was also a member and President of the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
