Sunday, September 25, 2011

Manila Standard Today -- The road ahead -- 2011/september/22

Manila Standard Today -- The road ahead -- 2011/september/22

"x x x.

For instance, the current rules on the conduct of preliminary investigation would have to be amended to provide the manner by which the ICC Prosecutor and his staff could conduct their own investigations in the country. An agency, most likely the DOJ, would have to be identified and tasked to cooperate with the ICC in this regard. The Supreme Court, likewise—since the ICC would be exercising judicial power in the Philippines, a first and I have to say, a possibility that I thought would not materialize—would have to amend its Rules of Court to provide the basis and the manner of the ICC sitting in session in our territory. The last time an international tribunal exercised jurisdiction in our country was the war crimes tribunal that convicted General Yamashita after World War II. The Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation will also have to shape up if they are to satisfy their obligation to cooperate with the ICC on the apprehension of individuals and the procurement of evidence. One positive result of our accession to the Rome Statute is the fact that whether they like it or not, our investigative agencies would now be constrained to modernize their capacity to enable them to cooperate with the Court.

x x x."