Reuters: ICC body recommends removal of prosecutor over sexual misconduct

Diplomats overseeing the International Criminal Court have concluded that suspended chief prosecutor Karim Khan engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior staff member and should be removed from office, according to two copies of a decision seen by Reuters.

The recommendation by the executive bureau of the ICC’s governing body marks the first reported disclosure of the body’s findings on misconduct allegations brought in 2024 by a female lawyer against Khan, a 56-year-old British barrister who has served as the court’s prosecutor since 2021.

The bureau’s decision will inform a vote by the ICC’s 125-member Assembly of States Parties in New York on July 24. It remains unclear whether enough member states will support Khan’s dismissal. At least 63 votes are needed to remove him from office.

Khan has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In comments to Reuters on June 23, his lawyers said the bureau’s decision was “unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.” They pointed to a review by three external judges, which found the evidence was insufficient to prove the allegations “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

However, the bureau rejected that advisory opinion and said it had sufficient grounds to reach its own conclusion, relying on a year-long United Nations investigation commissioned by the court.

According to the June 8 decision reviewed by Reuters, the evidence showed “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Khan had engaged in a sexual relationship with the complainant. The document said the relationship began in March 2023 and “escalated over time,” adding that “in the context of that power imbalance, a sexual relationship could never be appropriate.”

The 27-page document described Khan’s conduct as a “serious breach of duty” and “serious misconduct.” It cited the U.N. report as finding that Khan’s behaviour escalated to “non-consensual sexual contact” in his office, at his private residence and while on mission.

The bureau recommended “removal from office of the elected official, prosecutor Karim Khan,” according to the decision.

Khan, a former defence lawyer, has already been suspended by the ICC and by Britain’s independent regulator for court lawyers, which is expected to consider his future in the coming weeks. Since he took voluntary leave in May, his deputies have been running the prosecutor’s office.

By Sabina Mammadli