Victims’ lawyers sought to quote survivors in Filipino, but judges ruled that the presentation must be delivered in English
MANILA (November 3) — Filipino victims following former president Rodrigo Duterte’s trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not hear their accounts quoted in Tagalog during the victims’ opening statement after judges rejected a request for limited use of the language, citing the court’s English-and-French working-language rules.
Paolina Massidda, counsel for the victims, asked the court to allow brief Tagalog passages when the victims’ representatives deliver their opening statement as the trial begins on Nov. 30.
Massidda said the request would help Filipino victims following the proceedings connect more directly with the experiences being presented to the judges.
She told the chamber that Tagalog would be used for only 15 to 20 minutes of the overall presentation, with individual passages lasting one or two minutes.
But Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said the Rome Statute identifies English and French as the ICC’s working languages and that exceptional grounds would be needed to permit another language.
“The Rome Statute is quite clear. The working languages of the court are English and French,” Korner said.
The judge also pointed out that Tagalog is not spoken by all victims, some of whom speak other Philippine languages.
Korner said the court would provide interpretation during the proceedings and consider making Tagalog translations or transcripts available on the ICC website.
The ruling means the victims’ representatives must deliver their opening statement in English, even as they seek to present accounts from Filipino victims whose experiences are central to the case.
The language dispute highlights a practical challenge for victims and their families: following an international trial conducted in languages they may not speak, while seeking to have their experiences understood by the judges.
The prosecution is expected to deliver its opening statement first, followed by the victims’ representatives. The prosecution said it was working to limit its presentation to about three hours or less, while the victims’ team was also reviewing the time allotted for its statement.
Duterte’s trial is scheduled to open on Nov. 30 before ICC Trial Chamber III in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The former president faces three counts of crimes against humanity involving murder and attempted murder in connection with killings allegedly committed during his tenure as Davao City mayor and president.
The charges cover alleged killings in Davao City from 2013 to June 2016; killings of so-called high-value targets nationwide from July 2016 to July 2017; and killings during barangay clearance operations from July 2016 to September 2018.
