Khan faces historic removal vote as critics warn ICC process has been politicised

Khan faces historic removal vote as critics warn ICC process has been politicised

Member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are set to gather at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday for a controversial vote which could see the court's chief prosecutor Karim Khan dismissed from his job over alleged misconduct claims.

It will be the first time in the ICC's 24-year history that member states have been asked to decide whether to remove a sitting chief prosecutor from office. 

The Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the court’s governing body that is made up of its 125 members, will vote by secret ballot requiring an absolute majority of 63 states to remove the prosecutor. 

Khan’s lawyers said they have been denied accreditation to attend Friday’s session and to mount a defence prior to the vote. They added that the president of the ASP “has closed every formal channel” through which they can address the assembly, and has asked all state parties not to meet with the legal team. 

"The right under the rules to address you on the substantive decision of misconduct has been flatly denied to us," Khan’s lawyers, Tayab Ali and Sareta Ashraph, wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

Read more: Khan faces historic removal vote as critics warn ICC process has been politicised

Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan poses for a picture at the ICC headquarters in The Hague on 27 May 2022 (John Thys/AFP) ...