The International Criminal Court has voted to dismiss its chief prosecutor Karim Khan, with 82 member states backing his removal over findings of serious sexual misconduct and abuse of authority.

The Assembly of States Parties, held the vote at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where Khan himself was absent, barred from entering the United States under sanctions imposed by the Trump administration over the ICC’s investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Khan, a British lawyer who was elected as the ICC’s third prosecutor in 2021, had been on voluntary leave since May 2025 to contest the allegations.

He was formally suspended last month after the court’s oversight body found he had committed a “serious breach of duty and serious misconduct” by engaging in an improper sexual relationship with a junior staff member and attempting to prevent her from pursuing her complaint.

Khan has consistently denied all the allegations, and his lawyer said he would challenge “the lawfulness and fairness of the decision through all available legal mechanisms.”

His removal came after a long and difficult process that involved many disagreements.

The first allegation emerged in May 2024 but the investigation was closed after the alleged victim declined to participate, drawing criticism that the process had been mishandled.

A second referral followed in October 2024, which was transferred to the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services.

That inquiry ran from November 2024 to December 2025, generating more than 5,000 pages of evidence and testimony before a panel of three judges concluded that Khan’s conduct amounted to serious misconduct.

Khan also remains suspended from practising law in the United Kingdom, where the Bar Standards Board imposed an interim ban while conducting its own separate inquiry.