Lawyer Paolina Massidda from the Common Legal Representatives of the Victims and Trial Chamber III Presiding Judge Joanna Korner during the fifth status conference on the case of former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on November 2, 2026. (Courtesy: ICC-CPI / Screenshots)
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday denied a request from the Common Legal Representatives of the Victims (CLRV) to allow the use of Tagalog in parts of the opening statements in the upcoming crimes against humanity trial of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Trial Chamber III Presiding Judge Joanna Korner said the court must adhere to the language requirements under the Rome Statute, ruling that English would be used throughout the trial, which is set to begin on Nov. 30, 2026.
Article 50 of the Rome Statute identifies English and French as the court’s working languages, while allowing other official languages to be used in proceedings, if the court considers the request adequately justified.
“While we understand that we want to relate to the victims… I’m afraid, as I say, for a number of reasons, but we’re going to follow what the Rome Statute has mandated, and it must all be in English,” Korner said.
During the fifth and final status conference for Duterte’s trial, Paolina Massidda from the CLRV asked the chamber to allow them to use Tagalog when delivering portions of their opening statement, particularly when quoting the victims’ accounts.
“Our request is more during the opening statement. We will make some remarks quoting parts of the narrative that victims provided to us, and we’d like to do that in Tagalog,” Massidda said.
“For them, it’s also important to listen to how we convey to the chamber what they narrated to us and their experiences, and they can relate and connect much more if that is done in Tagalog,” she added, explaining that it would help victims better relate to the proceedings as their personal accounts are presented.
Massidda estimated that using Tagalog would take up roughly 15 to 20 minutes of the opening statement.
Korner said the chamber had carefully considered the request but maintained that English and French are the ICC’s working languages.
She said using a language outside the court’s official working languages would require an “exceptional reason,” while also acknowledging the additional work that would fall on interpreters tasked with translating the Tagalog statements.
“The question of Tagalog, it seems to me, it’s not the language of all the victims in any event because I gather that some of them speak different languages,” Korner said.
“There will be interpretation and we’ll make sure, if we can ask Mr. Dubuisson whether it’s possible for a translation in Tagalog or a transcript in Tagalog to be produced, which is available,” she added, referring to ICC Division of Judicial Services Director Marc Dubuisson.
Korner also raised concerns that allowing Tagalog in the proceedings could complicate the processing of victims’ applications and increase the costs involved.