Families of victims of the war on drugs under former President Rodrigo Duterte, along with human rights advocates, gather at the National Council of Churches in the Philippines in Quezon City on September 16, 2026, to watch the livestream of the International Criminal Court’s third status conference. In a rare appearance, Duterte attended the proceedings, which the families of victims welcomed as a sign that he is fit to stand trial. Jire Carreon, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has formally received an amended E-Court Protocol submitted by the court’s Registry, marking a procedural update in the ongoing case against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The filing, submitted on October 1, 2026, stems from a decision issued by the Chamber on September 28, 2026, which granted a prosecution request.
“On 31 August 2026, the Prosecution requested an amendment to the Protocol and the creation of a URL metadata field within Nuix Discover… On 28 September 2026, the Chamber granted the Prosecution’s request and instructed the Registry to file the amended Protocol by 2 October 2026,” said in the document.
According to court filings, on June 17, 2026, the Registry proposed the initial E-Court Protocol.
The Chamber subsequently adopted this framework two days later, on June 19, 2026, through its directions on the conduct of proceedings.
Months later, on August 31, 2026, the Prosecution formally requested adjustments to the protocol, specifically calling for the creation of the URL metadata field.
Trial Chamber III approved the request on September 28, instructing the Registry to finalize and file the amended protocol by October 2, 2026.
The Registry complied with the directive on October 1, submitting the revised document from The Hague, Netherlands.
The filing was signed by Marc Dubuisson, Director of the Division of Judicial Services, acting on behalf of Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler.