Judges say ICC prosecutor in sexual misconduct inquiry can potentially resume work

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A three-judge panel reviewing a United Nations investigation into alleged sexual misconduct involving International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said the embattled chief prosecutor could potentially resume his duties. The panel made clear that the fate of Khan is for the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties, which oversees the court, after the assembly began moving to extend the process as it grapples with an unusual legal pathway.

The panel’s assessment followed Khan’s temporary step-down in May 2025, which was tied to the outcome of a U.N. probe by the Office of Internal Oversight Service into allegations of sexual misconduct that Khan has denied. The United Nations investigation, according to conclusions described by the Associated Press, found evidence that Khan had “nonconsensual sexual contact with (the aide) in his office, at his private residence, and whilst on mission,” as reflected in a copy of the report viewed by AP.

Khan’s lawyers responded publicly on Wednesday, saying he disputes the allegations. In a statement to AP, Khan said through his lawyers that he “firmly maintains that he did not engage in any inappropriate conduct toward the complainant, whether sexual or otherwise.” His lawyers also said he “categorially denies both any nonconsensual sexual conduct and the existence of any consensual sexual relationship,” while the ICC declined to comment, according to AP.

The three judges, chosen by the Assembly of States Parties to carry out a legal assessment of the U.N. investigation, said the U.N. findings were not conclusive enough. The panel said the U.N. investigators were tasked with conducting an investigation but were not assessing whether Khan’s alleged conduct amounted to misconduct under the relevant legal framework, and that the panel had to apply a criminal standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to its report.

In a summary of its reasoning, the judges wrote that the U.N. investigators “failed to indicate which witnesses’ testimony they found credible” and “did not resolve narrative inconsistencies.” The panel said it evaluated more than 5,000 pages of evidence, and that “the resolution of a number of disputes, which remains outstanding, would be necessary before a proper characterisation of the facts can be made,” AP reported from the judges’ 85-page assessment.

The judges also said their conclusions “do not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant legal framework,” AP reported. The advice, the judges said, is not binding on the assembly, leaving the next decision to the ICC’s member states body. The Assembly, moved Wednesday to extend the investigation while it reviews how to proceed, according to AP.

The case has become intertwined with other strains on the court. Khan’s temporary leave and the U.N. inquiry took place around the time the prosecutor sought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over actions in Gaza. In November 2024, a three-judge panel signed off on those charges, and after that, the U.S. imposed sanctions in response, according to AP, sanctioning 11 ICC staff including Khan, closing bank accounts and revoking U.S. visas.

AP also reported on internal allegations that predated the U.N. investigation. In October 2024, AP said it found that Khan was facing internal accusations of sexual misconduct based on whistleblower documents, including claims that Khan moved an aide into his office after seeing her elsewhere in the court, and that she later became a regular presence on official trips. Those documents, AP reported at the time, included allegations of behavior on a foreign trip involving an interaction on a hotel bed and further allegations about conduct later that night and other nonconsensual behaviors described in the documentation.

The report also described how some staff and the internal staff climate have been affected. A group of staff members sent a letter Wednesday to the Assembly of States Parties expressing serious concerns about Khan’s potential return, AP said. According to the document viewed by AP, the group felt the U.N. investigation was “incompatible with continued confidence in the prosecutor’s leadership,” and AP reported that one senior staff member said “people are deeply afraid” of retaliation, with other staff members making similar comments on condition of anonymity.

The U.N. investigation report, AP said, also described alleged “retaliatory” conduct toward two members of staff who supported the alleged victim before Khan took his leave. AP further reported that the U.N. investigation said the aide was placed on a suicide watch at one point. The AP report added that AP does not identify people who say they were subjected to sexual misconduct.

Finally, AP said the ICC prosecutor in the sexual misconduct inquiry—while denying the allegations—faces a process that the three-judge panel described as unprecedented for the court. The Assembly of States Parties has had to repeatedly create new rules to accommodate the situation, leaving the question of whether Khan can return to work dependent on the assembly’s next steps, rather than the judges’ assessment alone.