Article

Combating impunity : legal nuances of the Philippine IHL act and the Philippine ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

H. Harry L. Roque

• Asia-Pacific yearbook of international humanitarian law, Vol. 4, 2008-2011, p. 262-281

English

When the Philippines ratified the Geneva Conventions, it entered into the obligation to enact domestic laws punishing violations thereof. After almost sixty years, the Philippines finally discharged this burden with the passage of the IHL Act on December 11, 2009. Subsequently thereafter, on August 22, 2011, after eleven long years of continuous lobby, the Philippine Senate gave its concurrence to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“Rome Statute”), paving the way for the deposit of the instrument of ratification with the UN Secretary-General. With this deposit, the Philippines became the 117th State party to the Rome Statute. Certainly, both developments are an important indication of the country’s commitment to combat impunity in respect of grave breaches and serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. This paper seeks to analyze the legal nuances of both developments and the challenges that come with the entry into force of the IHL Act and the Rome Statute within Philippine jurisdiction.

• Asia-Pacific yearbook of international humanitarian law / University of the Philippines law Center, Institute of international legal studies
• Asia-Pacific yearbook of international humanitarian law [4/2008-2011] / University of the Philippines law Center, Institute of international legal studies