The International Criminal Court'sgoverning body will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, Reuters reported.Khan is called on in an internal document circulated to member states to temporarily step down from his role at the world'spermanent war crimes court, based in The Hague, while an inquiry is ongoing.The undated and unsigned document, seen by Reuters, was circulated to member states by ICC staff.Khan'soffice referred questions to his attorney and phone calls and repeated requests for comment sent to his lawyers went unanswered.Khan has denied allegations of misconduct that were reported to the court'sgoverning body last month.
At that time he asked the court'sown internal oversight body to investigate them.A source with knowledge of the matter said an external probe was agreed at a meeting on Thursday of a core group of the court'sgoverning body, the Assembly of States Parties.Reuters couldn&t determine who would conduct the investigation.ICC judges are currently reviewing a request Khan made in May for arrest warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and Hamas leaders.
Khan has said the misconduct allegations coincided with a campaign of misinformation against his office.The internal document, circulated for discussion, argued that the court'sindependent, internal body for assessing matters of conduct should have launched a formal inquiry into the allegations when they were first reported.A source familiar with the matter said the alleged victim in the Khan case does not have confidence in the independence of the court'sinternal body, whose incoming head is a former member of Khan'sstaff, because details of reports to it about the alleged misconduct were leaked.The current and future head of the independent body did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The document also shows pressure is mounting on Khan to temporarily step aside and let one of his deputy prosecutors take over while the investigation takes place.&The prosecutor should step aside with immediate effect to pave the way for an independent investigation,& the document says.
It was unclear if the court'sgoverning body has asked Khan to do so.The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression in member states or by their nationals.
It'sgoverning body holds its annual meeting early next month.The post ICC to investigate alleged misconduct by war crimes prosecutor & Reuters first appeared on Ariana News.