The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is pressing for a swift decision following the suspension of chief prosecutor Karim Khan over allegations of sexual misconduct against a staff member, the court said on Tuesday.
In a statement issued in The Hague, the court's presidency called on member states to bring this process to a conclusion with the utmost priority. The court's prosecution office also said it hoped the matter would be resolved quickly.
The 56-year-old British lawyer was suspended with immediate effect late on Monday evening on suspicion of sexual assault against a female staff member.
The 125 member states must now decide at a special session whether Khan should be removed from office. This is to happen as soon as possible, though no date has yet been set.
The affair, which has been simmering for two years, has placed the court under severe strain.
Khan: 'Unlawful ... unsupported by evidence'
Through his lawyers, Khan firmly rejected the decision to suspend him: "The decision is unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence." He said he would challenge it.
Khan had already stepped back from his duties just over a year ago while the allegations were being examined.
"Mr Khan has consistently and unequivocally denied any wrongdoing. Those denials stand," the statement said.
Independent UN investigation
A UN commission investigated the claims and handed its report to the court at the end of 2025. Media outlets cited from the report, which has not yet been published.
The commission found it proven that Khan had "non-consensual sexual contact" with a staff member, the New York Times reported in March.
However, an opinion by three judges found shortcomings in the UN investigation, including that it had not sufficiently examined the credibility of witnesses. The judges therefore did not consider Khan's guilt to be proven beyond doubt.
"The material does not establish any misconduct or breach of duty of any kind," Khan's lawyers said in a statement issued at the beginning of April.
The representatives of 21 states on the bureau of the Assembly of States Parties decided otherwise: According to media reports, two thirds considered the assaults by Khan to be proven.
Israel calls for ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu to be lifted
The suspension also sits at the centre of the international dispute over the court's arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspicion of crimes committed during the war in Gaza. Following Khan's suspension, Israel called for the arrest warrant against Netanyahu to be lifted.
Karim Khan's suspension "proves that this institution is rotten to the core," Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, wrote on X on Tuesday. "Now is the time to cancel the absurd indictments against Prime Minister Netanyahu!"
Khan’s suspension came amid allegations of sexual misconduct against a close colleague. The British prosecutor has been on a temporary leave of absence for over a year and intends to return once the allegations are resolved.
Khan had been ICC chief prosecutor since 2021 and had requested the court to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Gaza war.
Due to its harsh actions in the two-year war in the coastal strip, during which tens of thousands of people were killed, Israel has repeatedly been accused of war crimes and, in some cases, genocide.
The Israeli government strongly rejects these allegations. It describes the war as part of a broader conflict with Iran and its regional allies, who seek to destroy the Jewish state.
Damage to the court's reputation
The affair has damaged the court's international standing. The chief prosecutor is, in a sense, the moral calling card of the ICC, which holds those with political and military responsibility accountable for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. A person in that role must be beyond reproach.
The affair plays into the hands of the court's critics, above all the US. Washington accuses the court of bias and of targeting Israel.
The US has exerted strong pressure and imposed sanctions on judges and staff members, who can no longer use their email addresses or credit cards, can no longer travel to the US and have had their US bank accounts frozen.
Pro-Israel lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky wrote in an X post that Khan’s suspension raises "raises further profound questions about the integrity of his tenure, [including] his vendetta against Israel and the baseless war crimes charges he pursued, that must now be dismissed outright!"
A total of 125 states have signed the Rome Statute that set up the ICC, including all EU member states.
The US, Russia and Israel are not parties to the court, which is tasked with investigating and prosecuting individuals suspected of committing serious atrocities such as war crimes.
