The governing body of the International Criminal Court has voted to remove Prosecutor Karim Khan from office, and his legal team says it will challenge the decision.

The vote, reported by Anadolu Ajansı on the war crimes court's assembly proceedings, ends Khan's tenure at the helm of the ICC's prosecution arm. Khan's lawyers immediately signaled that they regard the removal as unlawful and vowed to contest it before the appropriate forum.

What did the court's member states decide?

The ICC's Assembly of States Parties — the body through which the court's 124 member governments exercise oversight — cast votes to strip Khan of the prosecutor's post. The assembly holds the power to appoint the prosecutor, and removal from office is among the most drastic measures available to it.

The decision makes Khan the first ICC prosecutor to be removed by a vote of the member states rather than leaving office at the end of a fixed term. His tenure had already been clouded by controversy, but the vote itself constitutes the operative act: the assembly determined that Khan should no longer hold the position.

What does the challenge mean?

Khan's legal team says the removal will not go untested. In the immediate aftermath of the vote, his representatives stated that they intend to mount a formal challenge to the assembly's decision.

That pledge sets up a potential fight over the legal boundaries of the assembly's authority. Any challenge would likely center on whether the removal followed the correct procedure under the Rome Statute, the court's founding treaty, and whether the grounds relied upon justify ending a prosecutor's term early.

For practitioners, the immediate practical consequence is uncertainty at the top of the Office of the Prosecutor. Cases currently under the prosecutor's authority — including high-profile investigations and arrest warrants — will need clear lines of responsibility while the leadership dispute plays out. Defense counsel, victims' representatives, and state parties engaged with the court should watch for:

• The appointment or designation of interim prosecutorial leadership;
• The filing and forum of any legal challenge by Khan's team;
• Clarification from the assembly on the legal basis for the vote.

Who is Karim Khan?

Khan, a British lawyer, has served as the ICC's chief prosecutor, leading prosecutions for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. His office pursued cases against sitting heads of state and issued arrest warrants in matters of global political significance, making the prosecutor's post one of the most consequential in international law.

His removal by vote marks an extraordinary moment for an institution that has never before ousted its top prosecutor this way. Whether the challenge his team promises succeeds or fails, the episode will test the Rome Statute's mechanisms for holding the court's most powerful official to account.

The story is developing. Watch for filings from Khan's legal team and any response from the Assembly of States Parties.