On September 15, 2021, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court granted the Prosecutor's request to open an investigation into the situation in the Philippines. The case concerns crimes allegedly committed there between November 2011 and March 2019 in the context of a "war on drugs" campaign. According to a press release from the Court, the Chamber found that the facts at present indicate that "the so-called 'war on drugs' campaign cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation, and the killings neither as legitimate nor as mere excesses in an otherwise legitimate operation." The crimes under investigation are limited to those allegedly committed during the period when the Philippines was a state party to the Rome Statute. The Philippines withdrew from the Statute on March 17, 2019. The Court retains its jurisdiction for any crimes allegedly perpetrated before that date.