Key facts
- UK's top government lawyer, Sir James Eadie KC, advised the ICC that its disciplinary process for Prosecutor Karim Khan was legally flawed.
- Eadie warned the process risked undermining the court's integrity due to political pressures surrounding Khan's investigation into Israeli war crimes.
- The advice criticized the limited role of a judicial panel, stating it lacked necessary adjudicative and fact-finding powers.
- The ICC bureau disregarded Eadie's advice and proceeded with its own procedure.
- A judicial panel found no misconduct, but a majority of the bureau voted to disregard this finding.
- ICC member states will vote on July 24 on whether to remove Khan from office.
Sir James Eadie KC, the United Kingdom's most senior government lawyer, privately advised the International Criminal Court (ICC) that its disciplinary process for Prosecutor Karim Khan was legally flawed and risked undermining the court's integrity. The advice, submitted in November 2025, warned that "political pressures" surrounding Khan's investigation into Israeli war crimes meant fair process was essential.
Eadie, acting on instruction from Khan's legal team, criticized the "restrictive mandate" given to a three-judge panel by the ICC's Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP). He argued that stripping the judges of adjudicative and fact-finding powers would be "unlawful, unsustainable in principle" and leave "no judicial, or independent, fact-finding phase at all."
The bureau disregarded this advice and proceeded with an ad hoc procedure. This involved outsourcing the misconduct probe to the UN Office of Oversight Services (OIOS) after the complainant refused to cooperate with the ICC's own investigative body. The allegations against Khan included unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, abuse of authority, and retaliation against office members. Khan denied all allegations.
In March, a UN-submitted report and evidence led a judicial panel to unanimously conclude that the facts presented did not establish misconduct. However, a majority of bureau members voted to disregard this finding, prompting concerns about politicization. The bureau formally suspended Khan on June 8, referring the matter to the ASP. ICC member states are scheduled to convene on July 24 to vote on the misconduct allegations and whether to remove Khan from office.
Eadie's opinion emphasized that the investigator should not also be the judge and that a proper judicial process, including an oral hearing and cross-examination, was necessary to test allegations. He noted that the sensitivities surrounding the ICC's investigation into Israeli officials, compounded by US sanctions on Khan and other ICC staff, made a fair process crucial to maintaining the court's integrity.
Khan, elected chief prosecutor in February 2021, has pursued investigations into alleged international crimes by leaders from various countries, including seeking arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Myanmar's junta leaders, and the Taliban. The US, Russia, and Israel are not ICC members but the court has jurisdiction over crimes committed by their nationals on member state territory.