ICC top prosecutor removed over sexual misconduct allegations

Image source, Reuters Image caption, Karim Khan denies all the allegations against him

Members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) have voted to dismiss Karim Khan as chief prosecutor for alleged sexual misconduct.

Elected the ICC's third prosecutor in 2021, Khan was suspended last month. The decision to remove him was passed with 82 votes in favour.

The court's oversight body found in June he had committed a "serious breach of duty and serious misconduct" by engaging in an improper sexual relationship with a junior ICC staff member and seeking to stop her pursuing her complaint.

Khan has repeatedly denied all the allegations against him. His lawyer said he would challenge "the lawfulness and fairness of the decision through all available legal mechanisms".

It was not immediately clear what legal avenues remained open to the ousted prosecutor.

In a statement after the vote, the ICC "took note" of the decision of the Special Session of the Assembly of States Parties - the 125 member states which voted to remove Khan.

"The Court will continue to attach the utmost importance to maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful working environment for all personnel," the ICC statement said.

The entire process, however, goes beyond the fate of a single prosecutor and could reshape the world's only permanent war‑crimes tribunal.

The misconduct investigation has put the institution under a glaring spotlight, intensified divisions inside it and played out alongside an unprecedented campaign to weaken, and in fact dismantle, the ICC in its entirety.

The fear among its supporters is that the court will emerge weakened and less able to face the gravest global threats.

Khan, a prominent British lawyer, has been on voluntary leave to fight the allegations since May 2025. He remains suspended from practising law in the UK, after the Bar Standards Board imposed an interim ban while it conducts its own inquiry.

He was unable to attend the vote, held in the United Nations headquarters in New York, because he is barred from entering the United States under sanctions imposed by the Trump administration over the ICC's investigation into alleged war crimes by Israeli officials in Gaza.

Regardless of his removal, the controversy is unlikely to end there.

The decision follows a highly sensitive process that has left the court under intense scrutiny.

In May 2024, allegations that Khan had engaged in sexual misconduct involving a female staff member were reported to the ICC by a third party.

The court's Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM) opened an investigation, but the case was later closed after the alleged victim declined to participate.

Critics of the process argued that the investigation had been mishandled, undermining confidence in the IOM.

Investigators ultimately said there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations.

A second referral was made in October 2024. The matter was then transferred to the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which conducted a broader investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of authority.

That inquiry ran from November 2024 to December 2025 and generated more than 5,000 pages of evidence and testimony.

The OIOS findings were subsequently reviewed by a panel of three judges tasked with advising whether Khan's conduct amounted to serious misconduct, less serious misconduct, or no misconduct.

The allegations have unfolded during a period of exceptional pressure on the ICC, coinciding with wider political tensions.

The United States imposed sanctions on Khan after he sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged crimes linked to the war in Gaza.

Washington's attitude to the court in general has become increasingly hostile in recent years.

Earlier this month, the US launched a new "whole‑of‑government" campaign to dismantle the ICC "brick by brick" in what it calls a threat to American sovereignty, promising visa bans, asset freezes and diplomatic pressure on allies to withdraw from the court or reject its jurisdiction over their nationals.

The United States, Russia and Israel are not members of the ICC. However, the court can exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed by their nationals on the territory of ICC member states.

ICC prosecutor steps aside until sexual misconduct probe ends

Dozens of countries back International Criminal Court after Trump sanctions