PH“It is untenable to suggest that judges cannot adjudicate a matter which is legally within their competence just because they previously issued judicial decisions at different stages of the proceedings in the same situation on the basis of different arguments,” Liera and Gansou said in their submission. “Judges are professionals capable of deciding on issues before them relying solely and exclusively on the evidence and submissions adduced in the particular case,” they added. “When the [PTC], in a former composition, addressed the issue of jurisdiction in the situation in the Republic of the Philippines, it did so in accordance with its duties under the Rome Statute, within the limits of the relevant stage of the proceedings and without prejudice to any future determinations on the same issue,” Gansou and Liera noted. In fact, the new arguments brought by the defense to the chamber had not been considered before by the chamber, they said.
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