Karim Khan investigation: Former ICC judges criticise handling of complaint against prosecutor

Former judges at the International Criminal Court have criticised the court's oversight body over its handling of an ongoing investigation into a complaint of alleged sexual misconduct brought against the court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.

Speaking to Middle East Eye, two former judges at the court said they were gravely concerned by the way in which Khan had been publicly identified as the subject of a complaint, and questioned the need for an external investigation into his alleged misconduct.

Cuno Tarfusser, an Italian judge who worked at the court from 2009 to 2019, told MEE: "I am deeply disturbed, even scandalised, by the way the proceedings against Karim Khan seem to be unfolding."

Another former judge, speaking on condition of anonymity, told MEE he feared that a lack of due process had taken the investigation into “bandit country” in which “anything can happen”.

The investigation by the United Nations’ Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was commissioned by Paivi Kaukoranta, the President of the Assembly of State Parties, the ICC’s oversight body, after details of a sexual misconduct complaint against Khan were leaked to the media in October.

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