The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has been formally suspended from his duties after the court's governing body determined he had committed serious misconduct, referring his case to a special session of all 125 ICC member states who will vote on his future. The Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties — the executive committee of the court's oversight body — announced the decision on Monday, describing the suspension as "not an indication of the final outcome." Khan, a 56-year-old British lawyer who has led the ICC's prosecution department since 2021, rejected the ruling in the strongest terms, with his lawyers calling it "unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence."

The allegations at the centre of the case were brought by a Malaysian woman in her thirties who worked directly for Khan at the court's headquarters in The Hague, the Dutch city that hosts much of the international legal system. She alleges he engaged in coercive and non-consensual sexual behaviour between 2023 and 2024, in hotel rooms during work trips to New York and Paris, in his office, and at his home. An 18-month investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services found a factual basis for the claims, concluding there had been non-consensual sexual contact in multiple locations. However, a three-judge panel convened to assess the legal significance of those findings ruled unanimously that the investigation was not conclusive enough to establish misconduct under the applicable legal standard — a nuance Khan's legal team had publicly characterised as a full exoneration. A report seen by the Guardian suggests the panel in fact acknowledged it was unable to complete the task it had been set, noting that the UN investigation had left "many factual disputes unresolved."

The governing body's executive committee, made up of 21 member states, voted by qualified majority to determine that Khan had committed serious misconduct before referring the matter to the full Assembly of States Parties. That assembly — the ICC's supreme oversight body — is the only authority with the power to remove Khan from office, a step that would require a majority in a secret ballot, meaning at least 63 of the 125 member states would need to vote in favour. No date for that special session has been set. These proceedings are entirely unprecedented in the court's history, forcing the assembly to develop new procedural rules as the case evolved. Khan has already been on voluntary leave since May, meaning his formal suspension has little immediate practical impact on court operations.

The case has unfolded against a backdrop of significant political controversy surrounding Khan's tenure. He attracted global attention — and fierce opposition — by seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, as well as for Hamas leaders including Yahya Sinwar in connection with the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. Khan was among the first ICC officials sanctioned by the United States in response to those warrants. He has repeatedly alleged the misconduct inquiry is a politically motivated effort to discredit him, a claim that investigators examining the case found no evidence to support, though they did find that pro-Israel actors had attempted to leak information about the original complaint. Khan has also been removed from participation in the court's current high-profile case against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.