Prosecutor Of The International Criminal Court

{"title":"Karim Khan Suspension Upheld by Britain’s Legal Watchdog","meta_description":"Britain’s legal watchdog upheld the suspension of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan as an ICC removal vote looms.","content_html":"<p>Britain’s legal watchdog upheld the suspension of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan on Tuesday, keeping the 56-year-old barred from practicing law in his home country while disciplinary proceedings continue. The decision lands just before the International Criminal Court’s oversight body is set to vote on whether to remove him from office.</p><h2>Karim Khan and the U.K.</h2><p>The Bar Standards Board suspended Khan in June in very serious and urgent cases after a complaint involving a female aide. A hearing last week left that suspension in place, and Tuesday’s ruling means the ban remains active while the disciplinary process runs its course.</p><p>Khan has denied wrongdoing. Days before the British ruling, the executive committee of the International Criminal Court’s oversight body concluded that he had committed serious misconduct and recommended that he be removed from office, putting the prosecutor under pressure from two different proceedings at once.</p><h2>Assembly of States Parties in New York</h2><p>The next step falls to the Assembly of States Parties, which will hold a special session on July 24 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. That meeting will take up the question of Khan’s removal from office while the suspension in the U.K. keeps him out of legal practice at home.</p><p>The timing matters because the International Criminal Court is already facing pressure from the United States. On Monday, Marco Rubio said the U.S. was launching "a sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty." Rubio also said he would pressure the court’s 125 member states to withdraw from the institution, sanction organizations that work with the court, and ban staff from traveling to the United States.</p><h2>U.S. sanctions on the ICC</h2><p>The Trump administration has already brought sanctions against Khan and a dozen other ICC staff. The sanctions were imposed in retaliation for warrants the court issued for top Israeli officials over the war in Gaza and investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan, and they also prevent ICC officials and their families from entering the U.S. and block access to basic financial services.</p><p>Siobhan McGarry said the European Commission was facilitating appropriate measures, including diplomatic, legal and financial avenues, that could help ensure the continuity of the ICC’s operations. The European Union condemned the new U.S. announcement, while the court’s next formal test comes in New York on July 24.</p></h2>","image_url":null,"image_page_url":null,"image_alt":null,"tags":{"persons":["Karim Khan","Donald Trump","Marco Rubio","Siobhan McGarry"],"places":["U.K.","New York","United States","Afghanistan","Gaza"],"organizations":["International Criminal Court","Britain’s legal watchdog","Bar Standards Board","Assembly of States Parties","European Commission"],"events":["Rome Statute","July 24 special session"]},"social_embeds":[]}