The New Leviathan: How the ICC case on the Drug War will Ripple Through International Criminal Law

By Carlo Miguel Candelaria

Layout by: Lou Margaret S. Nebit

On 12 March 2025, former Rodrigo Roa Duterte (Duterte) was surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by the Pre-Trial Chamber I (“the Chamber”) on 7 March 2025¹. The arrest operation was executed by virtue of RA 9851².

On 14 March 2025, Duterte made his first appearance before the Chamber, which decided that the confirmation of charges hearing would commence on 23 September 2025. However, this was moved to commence on 23 February 2026.

While the ICC stood firm and impartial in its initial stages, much like any trial, the decision regarding Duterte’s conviction or acquittal will determine the very landscape of international law, specifically a reevaluation of the international organizations in holding sovereigns accountable for their misdeeds. 

Though this is not new. History has shown that sovereigns may be held accountable for crimes against humanity. The prevailing cases of Pinochet³ and Japan⁴ are some of those instances where the sovereigns were held accountable for atrocious acts committed by their subordinates. 

By looking into the powers of the ICC, I propose revisiting the Leviathan⁵ by Thomas Hobbes, which dealt with the idea of an overseer, imposing and menacing, to the point that all those who lived and sojourned under its rule submitted to its awesome power.

Specifically, I will adopt the framework used in Chapter 2⁶ and Chapter 4⁷, in looking into the implications of the decision.

The framework of Thomas Hobbes dealt with the sovereign in the context of a Commonwealth. All sovereigns are the final judges, but may appoint subordinates who are impartial, equitable, and reasonable. 

The ICC is a judicial entity, empowered by the Rome Statute, over which it was appreciated by the ratification of various states. In this sense, there is voluntary submission of some sovereignty, to the ICC, over matters which involve those grounds under Art. 5 of the Rome Statute⁸. The Philippines transformed the Rome Statute into what is known as RA 9851⁹. Hence, there is “partial” submission to the judicial powers of the ICC. Though it is common knowledge that we have vacated from the Rome Statute itself, the mere existence of RA 9851 compels the Philippines to comply with the same.

Now, once the ICC successfully convicts or acquits Duterte, in violation of the Rome Statute, resulting from the casualties of the Drug War, it sets a new precedent in penalizing the sovereigns in the society that is the international community. It ratifies all the operations, from his arrest in the airport, to his detention in Hague, up until his conviction or acquittal. The results do not matter, but the completion of the trial empowers the ICC to conduct similar operations in the future. 

1. https://www.icc-cpi.int/victims/duterte-case ↩︎
2. Republic Act No. 9851, “Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.” (2009).
   ↩︎
3. https://www.iilj.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Regina-v.-Bartle-ex.-p.-Pinochet.pdf
   ↩︎
4. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/tokyo-war-crimes-trial ↩︎
5. Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Edited by J. C. A. Gaskin, Oxford University Press, 2008. ↩︎
6. Id.. ↩︎
7. Id. ↩︎
8. International Criminal Court. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Amended 2010, https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2025-05/Rome-Statute-EN-2025.pdf. Accessed 12 April 2026.
   
   
   “Article 5: Crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court
   
   The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes: 
   (a) The crime of genocide; 
   (b) Crimes against humanity; 
   (c) War crimes; 
   (d) The crime of aggression” ↩︎
9. Republic Act No. 9851, “Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.” (2009) ↩︎

NOTE TO THE READERS: Volume XIX, Issue 2, penned and published by The Red Chronicles, is a Back Issue for the Publication Year 2025-2026. Note that the article contents thereof align with the events relevant to the previous Academic Year 2025-2026.