ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan Ousted Over Sexual Misconduct Claims

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has voted to remove Karim Khan as its chief prosecutor after an investigation concluded that a junior staff member had been subjected to sexual misconduct by the former commissioner. The decision, passed with 82 votes in favour, follows Khan’s suspension last month and his repeated denials of the allegations.

Khan, a prominent British lawyer, had taken voluntary leave to fight the allegations since May 2025. He remains barred from practising law in the UK and has been subject to a US ban that prohibits travel to the United States.

The Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM) and later the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) conducted two in‑depth investigations spanning more than 5,000 pages of evidence. The evidence was reviewed by a panel of three judges who confirmed serious misconduct on Khan’s part.

The probe, coinciding with a timetable of heightened political pressure, raised concerns over the ICC’s governance, its legitimacy, and its ability to prosecute the world’s most serious crimes. The United States, despite not being an ICC member, has expressed strong opposition to the court’s jurisdiction and has launched a campaign to dismantle it via sanctions, visa bans and diplomatic pressure.

With the chief prosecutor removed, the ICC faces questions about sustainable leadership and resilience. The case exemplifies the intersection of legal conduct and political power in a multilateral arena that seeks to hold leaders accountable for war crimes.