The Assembly of States Parties of the ICC dismissed Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Assembly of States Parties (ASP) dismissed Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who was under investigation for sexual harassment. According to diplomatic sources, a secret vote was held on the dismissal of ICC Chief Prosecutor Han at the special session held at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York. In the decision put to vote, 82 of the ICC's 125 member countries voted for Khan's dismissal.

While 13 countries opposed the dismissal decision, 15 member states abstained. Under the Rome Statute, an absolute majority vote of 63 countries is required to remove the Attorney General from office. Karim Khan became the first prosecutor general to be dismissed since the ICC was established in 2002.

Kerim Han has been on the agenda with allegations of sexual abuse against him for more than 2 years. The staff member, publicly known only as "Sarah" and her direct assistant at the ICC, claimed that Han was making increasingly inappropriate contacts towards her. Han, on the other hand, denied all allegations, stating through his lawyers that he had not had "any consensual or non-consensual sexual contact" with the staff in question.

After ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in May 2024, he was placed on voluntary leave in May 2025 after sexual harassment allegations were made against him. In March, an independent panel of three judges appointed by the ICC concluded that the UN investigation "found no misconduct or violations" against Khan. Despite the report of an independent panel consisting of three judges, it was noted at the meeting of the ICC Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties on June 8 that the Assembly, consisting of 125 party states that established the court, would hold a special session on July 24 to determine the fate of Han's duty and that a decision would be taken by qualified majority for disciplinary proceedings against Chief Prosecutor Han. In June, the ASP Bureau, the executive body of the ICC, consisting of 21 members, decided that Han had "grossly abused" his position, in line with the investigation report of the UN Office of Internal Audit (OIOS), the opinion of a panel of independent lawyers and written statements, and temporarily dismissed the chief prosecutor.