Overview
- The Assembly of States Parties voted to remove Karim Khan in a closed session, with diplomatic sources reporting 82 of the court’s 125 member states supported the dismissal on Friday.
- The vote followed an executive committee finding in June and a lengthy UN OIOS investigation that the prosecutor committed serious misconduct and a serious breach of duty.
- Day-to-day work continues under two deputy prosecutors and the court’s active cases and 2024 arrest warrants remain in force because only ICC judges can issue or withdraw warrants.
- Khan has denied the allegations, is barred from entering the United States under U.S. sanctions, suspended from practising law in the UK, and his lawyers say they will challenge the lawfulness and fairness of the removal.
- The ouster has sharpened political pressure on the court, prompted Venezuela to announce its intention to withdraw, and begins a formal process to select a successor while member states and supporters scramble to shore up the ICC's credibility.