V A L I D I TY

RP-US N O N - S U R RE N D E R A G RE EM E N T : B AYA N M U N A V S .
R OM U L A
(GR 159618, 1 F EB R U A RY 2011)
Facts: Petitioners challenge the validity of the RP-US Non-surrender
Agreement in light of generally-accepted principles of law. The said
Agreement, signed by respondents, prohibits the Philippines from
surrendering or extraditing an American person charged of a crime to any
tribunal or third-country unless it was established by the UN. Petitioners
challenge the Agreement on the grounds of it undermining the Rome Statute
and Philippine sovereignty.
OF

Issue: Is the RP-US Non-surrender Agreement in violation of the Rome

Statute and Philippine Sovereignty?
Ruling: No. Art. 1 of the Rome Statute expressly says that the ICCs
jurisdiction will be complementary to the criminal jurisdiction of the country,
which has original jurisdiction. Art. 98 of the Rome Statute also says that the
ICC must first obtain the cooperation of the state before it can demand the
surrender of a criminal person. In light of this, the Agreement is not in
violation of the Statute. Sovereignty is not undermined either, because Sec.
1 of the Rome Statute provides the RP the option to try criminals in its own
jurisdiction or defer them to the ICC.