State principles and policy
- The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy and adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land (Section 2).
- The State adheres to a policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation and amity with all nations (Section 2).
- The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights, including the rights of indigenous cultural communities and other vulnerable groups such as women and children (Section 2).
- The State adopts responsibility to resolve armed conflict to promote “Children as Zones of Peace” (Section 2).
- The State adopts generally accepted principles of international law, including the Hague Conventions of 1907 and the Geneva Conventions on the protection of victims of war and international humanitarian law, as part of the law of the nation (Section 2).
- The State ensures that the most serious international crimes of concern to the international community must not go unpunished and that effective prosecution is ensured to end impunity (Section 2).
- The State guarantees persons suspected or accused of grave crimes under international law rights necessary for a fair and prompt trial in strict accordance with national and international law and fair-trial standards (Section 2).
- The State protects victims, witnesses and their families and provides appropriate redress, ensuring legal systems provide accessible and gender-sensitive avenues of redress (Section 2).
- The Act states that applying its provisions does not affect the legal status of the parties to a conflict nor gives implied recognition of belligerency status (Section 2).
Core definitions for crimes
- “Apartheid” means inhumane acts in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group or groups, intended to maintain that regime (Section 3).
- “Arbitrary deportation or forcible transfer of population” means forced displacement by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area where persons lawfully present, without grounds permitted under domestic or international law (Section 3).
- “Armed conflict” means any use of force or armed violence between States or protracted armed violence between governmental authorities and organized armed groups, or between such groups within that State, where such force or violence gives rise to a situation to which the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, including common Article 3, apply; it includes international and non-international armed conflicts and excludes internal disturbances or tensions such as riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence, or similar acts (Section 3).
- “Armed forces” means all organized armed forces, groups and units belonging to a party to an armed conflict under a command responsible for the conduct of subordinates, subject to an internal disciplinary system enforcing compliance with International Humanitarian Law (Section 3).
- “Effective command and control” (or “effective authority and control”) means the material ability to prevent and punish subordinate offenses (Section 3).
- “Torture” means intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering (physical, mental, or psychological) on a person in custody or under the accused’s control, excluding pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to lawful sanctions (Section 3).
War crimes (international and non-international)
- “War crimes” are defined as the acts in Section 4 committed in either an international armed conflict (grave breaches) or a non-international armed conflict (serious violations) plus other serious violations within the framework of international law (Section 4).
- In an international armed conflict, “war crimes” include grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, including:
- Willful killing; Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments;
- Willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health;
- Extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly;
- Willfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of rights to fair and regular trial;
- Arbitrary deportation or forcible transfer of population or unlawful confinement;
- Taking of hostages;
- Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile power; and
- Unjustifiable delay in repatriation of prisoners of war or other protected persons (Section 4).
- In a non-international armed conflict, “war crimes” include serious violations of common Article 3 to the four (4) Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 committed against persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including those hors de combat and includes:
- Violence to life and person, including willful killings, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
- Outrages upon personal dignity, including humiliating and degrading treatment;
- Taking of hostages; and
- Sentences and executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all judicial guarantees indispensable (Section 4).
- “Other serious violations” in armed conflict include internationally directing attacks against civilians or civilian objects, intentionally directing attacks against protected buildings and personnel, prohibited attack methods causing excessive incidental civilian harm, attacks on undefended places and non-defended localities, and multiple enumerated unlawful acts including rape and other sexual violence, use of perfidy, no quarter, unlawful property destruction, and other grave abuses listed in Section 4 (Section 4).
- Any person found guilty of committing any act specified under Section 4 suffers the penalty under Section 7 (Section 4).
Genocide offenses and incitement
- “Genocide” means any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, religious, social or any other similar stable and permanent group as such:
- Killing members of the group;
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members;
- Deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part;
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group (Section 5).
- It is unlawful for any person to directly and publicly incite others to commit genocide (Section 5).
- Any person found guilty of committing genocide acts under Section 5 or inciting genocide under Section 5(b) suffers the penalty under Section 7 (Section 5).
Other crimes against humanity
- “Other crimes against humanity” means any of the enumerated acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack (Section 6).
- Enumerated offenses include:
- Willful killing, Extermination, Enslavement, Arbitrary deportation or forcible transfer of population;
- Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;
- Torture;
- Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;
- Persecution against an identifiable group or collectivity on impermissible grounds including political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, or sexual orientation, in connection with acts listed in the same section;
- Enforced or involuntary disappearance of persons;
- Apartheid; and
- Other inhumane acts of similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or mental or physical health (Section 6).
- Any person found guilty of committing any act specified under Section 6 suffers the penalty under Section 7 (Section 6).
Penalties, fines, and asset forfeiture
- A person found guilty of committing acts provided under Sections 4, 5 and 6 is punished by reclusion temporal in its medium to maximum period and a fine ranging from PHP 100,000.00 to PHP 500,000.00 (Section 7).
- When justified by the extreme gravity of the crime—especially where commission results in death or serious physical injury, or constitutes rape—the penalty is reclusion perpetua and a fine ranging from PHP 500,000.00 to PHP 1,000,000.00 (Section 7).
- A person found guilty of inciting others to commit genocide under Section 5(b) is punished by prision mayor in its minimum period and a fine ranging from PHP 10,000.00 to PHP 20,000.00 (Section 7).
- The court shall order forfeiture of proceeds, property and assets derived, directly or indirectly, from the crime, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third (3rd) parties (Section 7).
- The court shall impose the corresponding accessory penalties under the Revised Penal Code, especially when the offender is a public officer (Section 7).
Criminal liability rules and defenses
- A person is criminally liable as a principal if the person:
- Commits the crime, whether individually, jointly, or through another person;
- Orders, solicits or induces commission of the crime which in fact occurs or is attempted; or
- Otherwise contributes to commission or attempted commission by a group acting with a common purpose, where contribution is intentional and either made to further the group’s criminal activity involving a crime under the Act or made with knowledge of the group’s intent to commit the crime (Section 8).
- A person is criminally liable as an accomplice if the person aids, abets or otherwise assists in commission or attempted commission, including by providing the means for commission (Section 8).
- A person is criminally liable for attempt if the person takes action commencing execution by a substantial step but the crime does not occur due to circumstances independent of the person’s intention; abandonment or prevention of completion eliminates liability for punishment under this Act if the person completely and voluntarily gave up the criminal purpose (Section 8).
- The Act applies equally to all persons regardless of official capacity; official capacity never exempts from criminal responsibility nor by itself reduces sentence (Section 9).
- The Act preserves Philippine-law immunities and special procedural rules except constitutional immunity from suit of the Philippine President during tenure, which does not bar the court’s jurisdiction over the person (Section 9).
- International-law immunities may limit the Act’s application within bounds established under international law (Section 9).
- A superior is criminally responsible as a principal for crimes committed by subordinates under the superior’s effective command and control or effective authority and control due to failure to properly exercise control where the superior either knew or should have known subordinates were committing or about to commit the crimes and failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures to prevent/repress or submit the matter to competent authorities (Section 10).
- Crimes under the Act, their prosecution, and execution of sentences are not subject to prescription (Section 11).
- Acting pursuant to an order does not relieve criminal responsibility unless all elements are present:
- The person had a legal obligation to obey;
- The person did not know the order was unlawful; and
- The order was not manifestly unlawful (Section 12).
- Orders to commit genocide or other crimes against humanity are manifestly unlawful (Section 12).
Jurisdiction and special courts
- The State exercises jurisdiction over persons—military or civilian—suspected or accused of crimes under the Act regardless of where committed if one of these applies:
- The accused is a Filipino citizen;
- The accused, regardless of citizenship or residence, is present in the Philippines; or
- The accused committed the crime against a Filipino citizen (Section 17).
- Philippine authorities may dispense with investigation or prosecution in the interest of justice if another court or international tribunal is already investigating or prosecuting; authorities may then surrender or extradite suspects or accused to the appropriate international court or to another State pursuant to applicable extradition laws and treaties (Section 17).
- No criminal proceedings shall be initiated against foreign nationals if they have been tried outside the Philippines and acquitted for the same offense, or if convicted outside and already served their sentence (Section 17).
- The Regional Trial Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over crimes punishable under the Act; judgments may be appealed or elevated as provided by law (Section 18).
- The Supreme Court designates special courts to try cases involving crimes punishable under the Act; the Commission on Human Rights, Department of Justice, Philippine National Police, or other law enforcement agencies designate prosecutors or investigators as the case may be (Section 18).
- The State ensures judges, prosecutors, and investigators, especially those designated for this Act, receive effective training in human rights, International Humanitarian Law, and International Criminal Law (Section 18).
Protection of victims and witnesses
- Courts must take appropriate measures to protect safety, physical and physiological well-being, dignity, and privacy of victims and witnesses, considering relevant factors including age, gender and health, and the nature of the crime, especially for sexual or gender violence or violence against children; the prosecutor must take such measures particularly during investigation and prosecution, without prejudicing accused rights or fair and impartial trial (Section 13).
- As an exception to public hearings, courts may conduct any part of proceedings in camera or allow evidence presentation through electronic or other special means, particularly for victims of sexual violence or children as victims or witnesses unless otherwise ordered by the court, considering circumstances including the views of the victim or witness (Section 13).
- Where victims’ personal interests are affected, the court shall permit victims’ views and concerns to be presented and considered at stages it determines appropriate, in a manner that does not prejudice accused rights or fair and impartial trial; such views and concerns may be presented through legal representatives where appropriate under rules of procedure and evidence (Section 13).
- If disclosure of evidence or information may lead to the grave endangerment of a witness’s security for the witness’s family, the prosecution may—withhold such evidence or information in proceedings prior to commencement of trial and submit a summary instead, while maintaining fairness and accused rights (Section 13).
Reparations and international-guided interpretation
- Courts apply principles relating to reparations to victims—restitution, compensation and rehabilitation—and may, upon request or on its own motion in exceptional circumstances, determine the scope and extent of damage, loss and injury to victims and state the principles used (Section 14).
- Courts may order reparations directly against the convicted person, specifying restitution, compensation and rehabilitation (Section 14).
- Before ordering reparations, the court may invite and shall take account of representations from or on behalf of the convicted person, victims, or other interested persons (Section 14).
- The Act provides that nothing in the reparations rules prejudices victims’ rights under national or international law (Section 14).
- Philippine courts, in applying and interpreting the Act, are guided by:
- The 1948 Genocide Convention;
- The 1949 Geneva Conventions I-IV, 1977 Additional Protocols I and II, and 2005 Additional Protocol III;
- The 1954 Hague Convention for cultural property in armed conflict, including its First Protocol and Second Protocol;
- The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and its 2000 Optional Protocol;
- Customary international law rules and principles;
- Judicial decisions of international courts and tribunals;
- Relevant international human rights instruments;
- Other relevant treaties ratified or acceded to by the Republic of the Philippines;
- Teachings of highly qualified publicists and authoritative commentaries as subsidiary means (Section 15).
- The Revised Penal Code and other general or special laws have suppletory application to the Act’s provisions (Section 16).
Separability and repeal
- If any part of the Act is held unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining parts continue in full force and effect (Section 19).
- All laws, presidential decrees and issuances, executive orders, rules and regulations, or parts inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly (Section 20).