MANILA— The International Criminal Court (ICC) Trial Chamber III has rejected former President Rodrigo Duterte’s request to require expert verification of open-source and user-generated evidence that the prosecution will submit in his crimes against humanity case.

In a seven-page document dated September 28, the chamber said requiring such verification could unnecessarily delay the proceedings given the volume and range of evidence already disclosed by the prosecution.

“Given the large volume of evidence that has been made available by the Prosecution in the present case, as well as the breadth of open-source and user-generated evidence, such obligation, if implemented, may in the event be unnecessary and could well have the effect of causing a needless delay to the start of the trial,” it said.

Duterte’s defense had based its request on concerns over the large volume of evidence disclosed by the prosecution.

The chamber, however, said it had already issued multiple orders during the third status conference to address issues arising from the volume of evidence.

The ICC also granted the prosecution’s request to create a URL metadata field that would allow the parties to identify the URL linked to open-source evidence at the time it was captured.

Duterte’s defense team has criticized the prosecution’s disclosure of evidence, describing the process as being in a “terrible mess.”

The prosecution disputed the characterization, saying the claims were not entirely accurate and were “really exaggerated, in [his] view.”

The defense has separately asked the ICC to order the prosecution to reduce the amount of evidence in the case, saying it had increased by almost 1,000%.

The prosecution has also opposed the defense proposal requiring authentication of evidence obtained from open-source and user-generated materials.

It argued that requiring such authentication would be “unnecessary and burdensome” and could result in delays to the trial.

The prosecution said it should be allowed to determine which open-source or user-generated materials require expert certification. It cited credible sources, including United Nations, nongovernment organization and government websites, as examples of materials that should not require expert authentication.

Duterte faces crimes against humanity charges over alleged killings during his time as Davao City mayor and President.

He attended his status conference for the first time on September 16, where matters involving the prosecution’s witnesses and evidence, the time needed to present its case, and evidence disclosure were discussed.

Duterte was arrested by Philippine authorities in Pasay City and surrendered to ICC custody on March 11, 2025. He was subsequently flown by chartered plane to The Hague.

His trial is scheduled to begin on November 30, 2026, with proceedings expected to continue into next year.