Unprecedented crisis at the ICC: Attorney General Karim Khan officially dismissed

This historic decision comes after allegations of assaults and sexual harassment made by a Malaysian lawyer from his team.

In office since 2021, the British magistrate had already been suspended last June pending political conclusions. This definitive removal is a seismic event for international justice, occurring as the prosecutor was at the center of a fierce geopolitical storm.

Origins of the accusations and reasons for the decision

The case broke out in October 2024 and gradually paralyzed the top of the prosecution in The Hague. Although Karim Khan firmly contested the facts and temporarily stepped back to prepare his defense, institutional pressure became unbearable.

For several member states, his continued presence risked tarnishing the credibility and moral authority of a jurisdiction that is supposed to embody the highest level of integrity in facing the most serious international crimes. The extraordinary assembly of States parties concluded that the necessary conditions of trust for continuing his nine-year mandate were no longer met.

The defense denounces political manipulations and international pressures

On the side of the former prosecutor’s counsel, the reading of events differs radically. His lawyers argue that the internal investigation reports provide no substantial evidence supporting the allegations and denounce a political maneuver aimed at removing a prosecutor who has become inconvenient.

During his mandate, Karim Khan drew the ire of several superpowers through landmark decisions:

In March 2023, he issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.

In May 2024, he requested and obtained arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

These initiatives provoked strong diplomatic backlash, including direct financial sanctions imposed by the U.S. administration against Karim Khan and officials in his office.

An uncertain future for the Hague jurisdiction

This dismissal comes in a particularly fragile context for the Court. A few hours earlier, Venezuela officially announced its withdrawal from the ICC, following the lead of countries in the Sahel States Alliance (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) that accuse the institution of bias.

Now deprived of its chief prosecutor, the prosecution office must organize interim leadership. The major question within international chancelleries revolves around the stance that Khan’s successor will take regarding sensitive cases related to Gaza and Ukraine, or whether the Court will move towards diplomatic withdrawal to preserve its own stability.