The International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III has rejected, for now, a proposed hearing arrangement that would divide the trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte into blocks of hearings with scheduled breaks.

During the third status conference on Wednesday, September 16, Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said the Chamber was not inclined to adopt the arrangement proposed by the ICC Registry, which she said had become common practice at the court.

“The Registry has taken the view that we’re going to have what has become, I’m afraid, ultra common in this court, sitting schedule then breaks,” Korner said.

“At the moment, we are not minded to do that. We are intending to sit through. We start on November 30th and then end, I think, it’s the middle of the week, before the Christmas break,” she added.

Korner emphasized the need for the proceedings to move forward as quickly as possible as the Chamber considers the schedule for Duterte’s trial, which is set to begin on November 30.

The proposed hearing arrangement was discussed amid broader concerns over the volume and organization of evidence that the defense must review before trial.

Duterte’s lead defense counsel, British lawyer Peter Haynes, earlier described the current stage of the proceedings as “a mess,” citing the prosecution’s extensive disclosure materials and a 15,000-item evidence list. Haynes also raised concerns about the time available for the defense to review the documents before the trial.

“It’s the only solution that we can suggest given the current state of the case, which is a mess,” Haynes said, adding that the defense was seeking solutions to address the disclosure issues.

The Chamber subsequently gave Haynes seven days to file a motion concerning the defense’s concerns, with the prosecution allowed to respond.

Duterte is facing crimes against humanity charges before the ICC over alleged killings linked to the period covering his tenure as Davao City mayor and Philippine president. The ICC case page identifies him as the accused in the Philippines situation.

Wednesday’s status conference also marked the first time Duterte attended the proceeding in person. He appeared behind his defense team and was shown listening to the proceedings during portions of the livestream.