The International Criminal Court (ICC) Registry has submitted an amended E-Court Protocol in the case against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, complying with an order from Trial Chamber III.
The Registry filed the amended protocol on October 1, a day ahead of the October 2 deadline set by the Chamber. The filing was signed by Marc Dubuisson, director of the Division of Judicial Services, on behalf of ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler.
“The Registry hereby submits the amended Protocol, as annex to the present submission, in compliance with the Chamber’s Decision,” the Registry said in its filing.
The submission followed the Chamber’s September 28 decision granting the prosecution’s request to amend the E-Court Protocol and create a URL metadata field for open-source evidence.
The new field is intended to make it easier to identify the URLs associated with open-source evidence at the time the material was captured.
The Chamber, however, rejected the defense request to require expert verification reports for open-source and user-generated evidence. It said such a requirement could be unnecessary given the volume and breadth of evidence and could potentially delay the start of the trial.
The E-Court Protocol was initially proposed by the Registry on June 17 and adopted by the Chamber on June 19 as part of its directions on the conduct of proceedings.
On August 31, the prosecution sought amendments to the protocol, including the creation of the URL metadata field within Nuix Discover, an electronic discovery platform. The Chamber subsequently granted the request and directed the Registry to submit the amended protocol by October 2.
Duterte is facing crimes against humanity charges before the ICC over alleged killings linked to his anti-drug campaign during his time as Davao City mayor and president.
The trial is scheduled to begin on November 30, 2026.
