Overview
- Member states will hold a confidential, absolute‑majority ballot on Friday to decide whether to remove Karim Khan and a minimum of 63 of the 125 votes is required for dismissal.
- Khan has been suspended from ICC duties, the UK Bar Standards Board has extended an interim suspension on his right to practise law, and U.S. sanctions bar him from entering the United States so he cannot attend the New York meeting.
- Two institutional reviews conflict: an ad hoc panel of three judges issued a non‑binding opinion saying the UN investigators’ report did not meet the legal standard for misconduct, while the ICC executive committee found a serious breach of duty and recommended suspension.
- Khan’s legal team says it was denied accreditation and the chance to address the Assembly before the vote and calls the process procedurally unfair, a claim that feeds wider accusations the case has been politicised.
- Whatever the outcome, diplomats and legal experts warn the episode has deepened divisions, damaged the ICC’s credibility, and will prompt an election for a successor if Khan is removed, leaving the court politically exposed during the transition.