Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan (56) has been guilty of serious misconduct and serious breach of his duties and is immediately suspended. This was the conclusion of the 21-member administrative body of the Criminal Court on Monday evening.
It has not yet been determined whether Karim Khan should permanently leave the ICC. The court’s 125 member states will vote on his possible dismissal. With an absolute majority of 63 votes, Khan will be removed from office. The chairman writes that a meeting will be convened “as soon as possible”.
The decision comes more than two years after allegations of sexual misconduct. In late April 2024, a close associate of Khan, a 39-year-old lawyer, confided in colleagues. They then reported the events to human resources. At the end of 2024, the United Nations began an investigation into the allegations, which took more than a year. Khan “categorically” denies the events. He temporarily stepped back in May 2025 pending the UN investigation.
It was soon no longer just about the abuse case. When Karim Khan called for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in May 2024, the charges and the arrest warrant became intertwined. Israel and the United States used the abuse case to cast suspicion on the chief prosecutor and the ICC. The woman was in turn dismissed as a spy for Israel, she is said to have lured the chief prosecutor into a trap.
Khan himself also connected the issues. In interviews he spoke of an “orchestrated campaign”: an attempt to oust him out of dissatisfaction with the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
NRC investigated the allegations last year and spoke to colleagues, family members and friends of the 39-year-old lawyer. Their stories, photos and documents support the accusations. It also emerged that Criminal Court officials put pressure on the woman not to file a complaint. In the summer of 2025, a second woman came forward accusing Khan of sexual misconduct.
Also read
Abuse, manipulation and suspicion at the top of the International Criminal Court in The Hague
High moral character
The court struggled with how to handle the case. There was no strict procedure in place, never before had the Member States had to come together to vote on whether or not the chief prosecutor would remain in office.
The chief prosecutor of the ICC is the face to the outside world and determines which cases receive priority in court. He or she must be “of high moral character,” the statute says. The chairman of the governing body announced last year that the court applies “a zero-tolerance policy” “with regard to prohibited behavior, such as intimidation, including sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of power.”
Unrest within the court has increased in recent months. Sensitive information leaked to the media, both about the abuse case and about secret arrest warrants. Although work at the court never came to a standstill – two replacements took over Khan’s work – employees are burdened by sanctions imposed by the US. Court employees urged clarity. They sent letters pleading for Khan’s return, or even asking for his departure.
The governing body announced on Monday evening that it would suspend Khan and convene the member states, based on, among other things, the UN report, the underlying evidence and an opinion from three legal experts. If a majority of the ICC’s 125 member states vote in favor of his dismissal, member states will elect a new chief prosecutor.
Also read
Everything seems allowed in a secret intelligence operation against International Criminal Court employees
