ICC’s Khan probe ‘reduced to political referendum’, Palestinian rights groups warn

What Happened

On 18 July 2025, nine Palestinian human rights organisations, including Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, and Addameer, issued a joint statement through the Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) warning that the disciplinary process against suspended International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan has been marked by denial of due process and politicisation. The groups argued that the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties (ASP) Bureau, which suspended Khan on 8 June, disregarded the findings of an independent panel of judges—Paul Lemmens, Seymour Panton, and Leona Theron—who had unanimously concluded that the evidence did not establish misconduct to the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard. PHROC specifically criticised the Bureau for characterising Khan’s conduct as a consensual but inappropriate sexual relationship, a characterisation never claimed by either party, and for ‘side-stepping’ the panel’s legal conclusions. The groups further denounced the Bureau’s rushed amendment of voting procedures to lower the threshold for removal—from a two-step process requiring a two-thirds majority to a single vote—ahead of the ASP special session on 24 July, where member states will vote on Khan’s future.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The controversy strikes at the core of the ICC’s role in the Israel–Palestine conflict. Khan’s pursuit of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over Gaza war crimes triggered US sanctions and international pushback. PHROC directly links the disciplinary process to a pattern of political interference aimed at shielding Israel from accountability, noting that several states now on the Bureau previously challenged the court’s jurisdiction over Palestine, and that Israel cited the misconduct probe in a filing to disqualify Khan. A politicised removal process risks delegitimising the court and could set a precedent that allows powerful states to influence ICC prosecutorial independence, with grave implications for Palestinian victims seeking justice and for the rule of law in international criminal justice.

Watch For

The ASP special session on 24 July 2025 is the immediate high-stakes event: member states will vote on whether to remove Karim Khan under the amended lower threshold. The outcome will signal the degree of political influence over the court. Watch also for further US sanctions or diplomatic moves against ICC officials, potential legal challenges to the Bureau’s procedural amendments, and Israeli legal filings leveraging the misconduct allegations. The broader trajectory of the ICC’s Palestine investigation—including arrest warrant enforcement and funding—may hinge on the vote.