ICC orders English opening remarks in Duterte trial

The International Criminal Court has ruled that victims’ representatives must deliver their opening remarks in English in Rodrigo Duterte’s trial, while interpretation will be available during proceedings. The trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 30 before Trial Chamber III in The Hague. Presiding Judge Joanna Korner rejected a request to include short passages in Tagalog, the language spoken by many Filipinos. Victims’ counsel Paolina Massidda had asked to quote portions of victims’ accounts in Tagalog, saying the language could help Filipino victims following the trial connect with the testimony. The proposed passages would have taken about 15 to 20 minutes in total. Korner said English and French are the court’s working languages under the Rome Statute, and that exceptional grounds would be needed to use another language. She also noted that Tagalog is not spoken by all victims. The court said it would consider whether to make Tagalog translations or transcripts available on its website, but had not confirmed that it would do so. The ruling came as the court prepared for the trial, which is scheduled to open with the prosecution’s presentation, followed by the victims’...