By The Weekly Vision International Affairs Desk
Karim Khan KC, the British barrister who once represented Kenyan President William Ruto before the International Criminal Court (ICC), has become the first Chief Prosecutor in the Court’s history to be removed from office after member states voted to dismiss him over findings of serious misconduct.
The Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the ICC’s governing body, voted by secret ballot during a special session held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 24 July 2026. Of the Court’s 125 member states, 82 voted in favour of removing Khan, comfortably exceeding the required two-thirds majority of 63 votes. Thirteen states opposed the motion, while 15 abstained.
The decision marks an unprecedented moment in the ICC’s 24-year history and comes amid heightened political scrutiny of the Court following several high-profile investigations and prosecutions. Khan, 56, had been suspended from his duties since June 2026 while disciplinary proceedings were underway. The proceedings centred on allegations that he engaged in inappropriate conduct involving a junior member of staff and attempted to discourage her from pursuing a complaint. Following its review, the Assembly concluded that Khan had committed serious misconduct and a serious breach of duty.
Announcing the outcome, Assembly of States Parties President Päivi Kaukoranta said member states had determined that the findings warranted his removal from office. His lead counsel, Tayab Ali, described the decision as unlawful and confirmed that Khan would challenge his dismissal through all available legal avenues.
The removal has also triggered a dispute over the disciplinary process itself. Khan’s legal team maintains that an independent judicial panel reviewing the matter concluded that the available evidence did not establish misconduct under the ICC’s legal framework. According to his lawyers, the Assembly proceeded with the removal despite that assessment. His lawyers have also argued that the Assembly failed to observe due process and ignored concerns raised by numerous legal experts and human rights organisations regarding the fairness of the proceedings.
The ICC has not publicly accepted those assertions, and the Assembly proceeded with the vote after considering the disciplinary findings before it. Earlier in the session, a procedural proposal by Sierra Leone to raise the threshold required for Khan’s removal failed to secure sufficient support, paving the way for the final vote. Khan’s removal comes at a time when the ICC is facing intense international political pressure. In 2024, he sought arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes linked to the conflict in Gaza. The move prompted strong criticism from Israel and the United States.
The United States subsequently imposed sanctions on Khan and other ICC officials, a development his legal team argues complicated the disciplinary process and placed additional pressure on the Court. Critics of the decision contend that the vote occurred against a backdrop of growing geopolitical tension surrounding the ICC. At the same time, supporters maintain that the disciplinary proceedings were conducted independently of the Court’s prosecutorial work. Khan’s removal takes immediate effect.
The Assembly of States Parties is expected to begin the process of selecting a new Chief Prosecutor, although the appointment is expected to take several months. In the meantime, ongoing ICC investigations and prosecutions will continue under the Office of the Prosecutor’s existing management.
Legal experts note that Khan’s removal does not affect existing arrest warrants issued by the Court. Warrants issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2024 remain legally valid unless modified or withdrawn by ICC judges. Khan is well known in Kenya for his role as defence counsel for President William Ruto during the ICC proceedings arising from the 2007–08 post-election violence. Those charges were ultimately vacated in 2016 after prosecutors withdrew the case, citing insufficient evidence and widespread witness interference.
His subsequent appointment as ICC Chief Prosecutor in 2021 was viewed by many as a remarkable career progression, placing a former defence advocate at the helm of the world’s leading war crimes court. His removal is therefore likely to attract considerable attention in Kenya, where the ICC has played a significant role in the country’s political and judicial history. The case also raises broader questions about governance, accountability and the ability of international institutions to operate independently while facing increasing geopolitical pressure.
Khan’s legal team has indicated that it will continue challenging the decision through the mechanisms available under the ICC’s legal framework, ensuring that the unprecedented dismissal is likely to remain the subject of legal and political debate for some time.
![Okiya Omtata[Courtesy]](https://theweeklyvisionews.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/images-26.jpg)
