In a ruling on July 18, the ICC appeals judges rejected an attempt by the Philippines to block an investigation into the bloody anti-narcotics campaign of former President Rodrigo Duterte. A majority of judges rejected all four points of Manila's appeal, including that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the Philippines and that authorities there were conducting their own investigation. "The ICC appeals judges' ruling marks the next step toward justice for victims of 'drug war' killings and their families," Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement. The decision left some of the families of drug war victims in tears after they watched the court proceeding online. But appeals judges ruled prosecutors still had jurisdiction over the alleged crimes because they occurred when the Philippines was still an ICC member.

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Persons: Rodrigo Duterte, Harry Roque, Roque, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Bryony Lau, Kristina Conti, HRW's Lau, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Anthony Deutsch, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Neil Jerome Morales, Eloisa Lopez, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Emma Rumney, Alex Richardson Organizations: Criminal Court, ICC, Philippine, Human Rights Watch, Duterte, Police, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, MANILA, Philippines, Manila, Asia, Amsterdam