ICC bureau suspends prosecutor Karim Khan pending final vote on misconduct probe

The executive body of the International Criminal Court decided on Monday to suspend Karim Khan, the ICC chief prosecutor, disregarding a judicial panel's opinion that found no evidence of misconduct against him.

According to an official press release published late on Monday, a qualified majority of the 21-member bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) decided to suspend the prosecutor “with immediate effect” pending the final decision of the ASP as the competent decision-maker on the matter.

The decision was made under rule 28 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which indicates that a two-thirds majority of bureau members present and voting recommended a finding of “serious misconduct”, paving the way for a vote at the larger ASP which first needs to uphold the decision, then vote on whether to remove the prosecutor.