Overview
- Member states used a secret Assembly vote to dismiss Karim Khan from the chief prosecutor post after an 18-month disciplinary review, with 82 of 125 states voting to remove him.
- A March panel of judges appointed by the court cleared Khan of misconduct, but the Assembly bureau later concluded he had engaged in a sexual relationship with the complainant and judged any such relationship inappropriate because of power imbalance.
- New reporting says the UK told Khan it would not back his return and rejected his request to brief a minister before the removal vote, a development Khan’s team says limited his access to allies.
- Israel and senior US officials publicly welcomed the ouster while Venezuela announced it would quit the court, and Khan’s lawyers have signaled legal challenges as two deputy prosecutors run the office during the transition.
- Rights groups, former judges and Khan’s lawyers say the process was politicised, and the judges at the ICC retain authority over existing arrest warrants so current cases, including Gaza-related warrants, remain subject to judicial control rather than Assembly action.