Nearly a decade ago, lawyer Ross Tugade was helping Martial Law victims get their reparations.

Now at 35, she has joined the ranks of accredited Filipino lawyers at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC Registrar recently accepted Tugade’s application to become an assistant to counsel at the ICC, joining fellow Filipino and human rights lawyer Kristina Conti on the list. The ICC is the tribunal that handles the case of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his war on drugs.

Being an assistant to counsel means Tugade can now be chosen either by defense counsels or legal representatives of the victims to assist them in ICC proceedings.

“I’ve worked almost exclusively in the human rights and international criminal law space since becoming a lawyer. Now, even with my work as an academic, international law and forms of state violence are primary preoccupations,” Tugade told Rappler.

“I applied because I knew being listed would amplify the kind of technical knowledge I have to help navigate the field of international criminal law, especially for the victim community,” she added.

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From CHR to ICC

Tugade started her professional career as a legal officer at the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB) in 2017.

Through Republic Act No. 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013, the HRVCB was created “to receive, evaluate, process, and investigate” reparation claims of the victims of human rights violations under the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos’ tyrannical rule.

Later, Tugade served as executive assistant in the same board from 2017 to 2018, where she supervised lawyers and paralegals in drafting resolutions related to reparations.

In 2018, Tugade transferred to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) where she reviewed patterns of large-scale human rights violations in the country. Her team led the writing of the CHR’s report on the human rights offenses under Duterte’s war on drugs.

Tugade also worked as a fellow of the Center for International Law (CenterLaw Philippines), where she handled public interest cases.

She assisted in one of the many petitions that challenged the draconian anti-terrorism law and the petition for the issuance of a protective writ of amparo on behalf of an urban poor community affected by the former president’s drug war.

Tugade was also part of the legal team that assisted Senator Risa Hontiveros before the Supreme Court when doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy questioned the Senate’s authority over him.

For Tugade, her inclusion in the list of accredited counsels signaled that “there are and have always been Filipino lawyers ready to engage institutions of accountability for mass atrocities, whether in the domestic or international space.”

She added that her acceptance to the tribunal also means being able to advance Filipino lawyers’ engagement with international law that’s not “inward looking.”

“One common misconception, and oftentimes used to peddle (disinformation), is that recognizing the ICC’s mandate would mean disregarding domestic institutions. Of course this is not a defensible legal argument, and even for the more well-meaning lawyers, it is a form of parochialism,” Tugade told Rappler.

“International law has had its share of criticism, most of which are fair. But lawyers, most especially, cannot retreat into a narrowness when we’re talking about the grave crimes of international concern,” she added.

Law educator too

Tugade obtained her political science degree, cum laude, from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2010. She completed her juris doctor program at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law in 2016.

The new Filipino ICC assistant to counsel holds a master of laws degree in transnational crime and justice under the University for Peace (United Nations-Mandated University) and UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.

Tugade is currently working on obtaining her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Law from the Faculty of Law and Justice of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. She is a full scholar of the Australian Government Research and Training Program.

Tugade taught at the Ateneo de Manila University from February 2021 to December 2024. She handled courses on political theory, international and public law, and human rights.

She was also a senior lecturer at UP Law from August 2020 to July 2025, handling courses like contemporary developments in international law and public international law, among others.

How to be assistant to counsel?

While an ICC counsel may represent defendants or victims before the ICC, assistants to counsel primarily assist counsels or victims in court proceedings. They are expected to “provide very useful assistance to counsel in preparing and presenting the case before the Chamber.”

Applicants must submit a list of requirements to the ICC registry, which will assess the aspirant’s qualifications, if they seek to be part of the list of accredited lawyers.

The ICC Registry will deliver its decision on the application within a month. Aspiring assistants to counsel must also meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Five years of relevant experience in criminal proceedings
• Specific competence in international or criminal law and procedure

According to the ICC Guide for applicants to the ICC List of Counsel and Assistants to Counsel, “The Court also seeks to allow counsel to receive the assistance of professors and other academic experts who have relevant expertise in international or criminal law. Even where these persons may have insufficient or no experience in criminal proceedings, their theoretical knowledge of the relevant law and jurisprudence makes them an invaluable asset to legal teams.”

Tugade told Rappler that while she’s finishing her studies abroad, she aims to provide assistance as an international law expert on the ICC proceedings.

“I think this is where I can contribute the most. International criminal law, and even international law in general, can be quite esoteric topics especially with the kind of training that we have received in the Philippines that is too focused on domestic proceedings,” the new ICC assistant to counsel said. – Rappler.com