International Governance — 2026-07-24

ICC Member States Vote 85-40 to Remove Prosecutor Karim Khan Over Misconduct Findings

BLUFKhan's dismissal leaves the ICC without a confirmed chief prosecutor into 2026 while Netanyahu's arrest warrants remain legally intact, creating a gap between the court's institutional paralysis and its binding judicial commitments.

Member states of the International Criminal Court voted Friday at UN headquarters in New York in a secret ballot to dismiss chief prosecutor Karim Khan, with diplomatic sources telling Haaretz 85 of the court's 125 states backed removal 1, while Reuters-sourced reporting cited by CNN and the Jerusalem Post put the figure at 82, still above the 63-vote threshold required 23. The vote followed a UN investigation into allegations that Khan sexually harassed and repeatedly subjected a junior ICC staff member to non-consensual acts, including groping and penetration, which the court's oversight body cited in suspending him in June 24. Khan's legal team has called the process unlawful and unsupported by evidence and denies any sexual relationship with the accuser 23. France and the Netherlands announced support for his removal ahead of the vote. His dismissal triggers an election for a successor not expected before next year, with existing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant remaining in force absent judicial withdrawal 34.

Analysis
Khan's removal opens an immediate leadership vacuum at the ICC that persists into next year, since no successor vote is expected before then and the prosecutor's office operates without a confirmed chief under active US sanctions pressure and Gaza-related warrant litigation. The outstanding arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant survive the vote intact, since only ICC judges hold authority to withdraw them, meaning the dismissal changes the court's personnel but not its open legal exposure toward Israel. Khan's legal team's unlawful-process claim keeps the ICC's own dismissal mechanism open to challenge on procedural grounds separate from the underlying misconduct findings, a dispute that could outlast the vote itself.

6 sources

ICC Members Dismiss Prosecutor Karim Khan Diplomatic Sources Say - Haaretz
ICC member states reportedly vote to dismiss chief prosecutor Khan - CNN
International Criminal Court members vote to dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan - The Jerusalem Post
ICC prosecutor Khan removed over sexual misconduct allegations: Sources - Al Jazeera
ICC member states gather to vote on chief prosecutor following scandal - Washington Post
ICC members dismiss prosecutor Karim Khan, diplomatic sources say - Reuters