ICC suspends chief prosecutor Karim Khan after sexual misconduct investigation

The suspension

The governing body of the International Criminal Court suspended chief prosecutor Karim Khan with immediate effect on Monday evening, 8 June 2026. The 21-member bureau of the Assembly of States Parties voted by qualified majority to refer the disciplinary proceedings against Khan to a special session of the court's 125 member states, who will decide his future. The bureau stated that the suspension "is not indicative of the final outcome."

This suspension is not indicative of the final outcome.

Khan, 55, had already voluntarily stepped aside from his role in May 2025 after the allegations surfaced. He has consistently denied all charges. His legal team described the proceedings as "unfair, illegal and lacking evidence," and Khan maintains he never abused his position or engaged in inappropriate behaviour.

The investigation

The suspension rests on an 18-month inquiry by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services. According to a document cited by the Associated Press, the investigation concluded that Khan had "non-consensual sexual contact with a colleague in his office, at his residence and during mission travel." The conduct allegedly occurred between 2023 and 2024.

Non-consensual sexual contact with a colleague in his office, at his residence and during mission travel.

A three-judge panel selected by the executive committee to provide a legal assessment of the findings, however, considered the investigation insufficiently conclusive. The full UN report, completed in December 2025, has not been made public. Neither has the judges' legal opinion.

What happens next

Only the full Assembly of States Parties has the authority to remove Khan from office. That requires an absolute majority of the 125 member states, determined by secret ballot. The special session is to be convened as soon as possible. The ICC presidency, acknowledging the decision, sought to shift focus from the individual to the institution, calling the court "one of the most significant achievements of human civilisation" and stressing the need to preserve "the integrity of international justice, the protection of victims and trust in the work of its judges and prosecutors."

Khan's tenure and legacy

Khan, a British lawyer born in Scotland in 1970 to Pakistani immigrant parents, took office in 2021 for a nine-year term. He previously worked at the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, defended Charles Taylor and Jean-Pierre Bemba, and led the UN investigative team for Islamic State crimes in Iraq. His tenure at the ICC was marked by high-profile arrest warrant requests against Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023 for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, and against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Reactions

Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon seized on the suspension, writing on X that it proves "this institution is rotten to the core" and calling for the arrest warrants against Netanyahu to be rescinded. Pro-Israel lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky said the suspension raised "further profound questions about the integrity of his tenure, including his feud against Israel and the baseless war crimes allegations he pursued, which must now be dropped entirely." The US, which is not a party to the Rome Statute, had previously imposed sanctions on ICC officials over the Netanyahu warrant request. Russia also imposed retaliatory measures after the Putin warrant.

This institution is rotten to the core. Now is the time to rescind the outrageous arrest warrants against Prime Minister Netanyahu.