Key facts
- ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan has been suspended by the UK's Bar Standards Board.
- The suspension is effective immediately and pending a hearing within four weeks.
- Khan faces allegations of sexual misconduct with a female staff member.
- The ICC's oversight body found Khan engaged in 'serious misconduct'.
- A vote on Khan's removal from office by the Assembly of States Parties is scheduled for July 24.
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has been suspended from practicing law in England and Wales by the UK's Bar Standards Board. The interim suspension, effective immediately and pending a hearing within four weeks, follows a ruling of serious misconduct by the ICC's oversight body, the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties. The allegations involve sexual misconduct with a female staff member, which Khan unequivocally denies. His legal team plans to challenge the decision. The ICC's governing body will vote on July 24 on whether to remove Khan from his post, a decision requiring 63 votes from the 125 member states. Khan has led high-profile investigations during his tenure, including seeking arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas figures.