Exclusive: ICC bureau changes rules to lower threshold for Khan's removal

The executive body of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has changed the voting process on the potential removal of Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from a two-stage vote to a single vote in an apparent break with its own rules, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Under the new process, which was approved by a majority of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) at a meeting on Monday, member states will be asked to vote just once on a single motion approving both the bureau's finding of serious misconduct against Khan and the prosecutor's dismissal, according to multiple diplomatic sources.

Previously, the procedure was expected to consist of a two-stage vote in which members would first vote on whether misconduct had occurred and its gravity, with a second vote on removal triggered only if they found "serious misconduct."

The ASP, which is made up of diplomatic representatives from the international court's 125 member states, is due to vote on Khan's future at the United Nations' headquarters in New York City on 24 July.

It comes after the bureau, a body of diplomats from 21 member states, determined by a two-thirds majority last month that Khan had committed "serious misconduct."

This was despite a judicial panel, appointed by the bureau to review the findings of a United Nations investigation into complaints against Khan, concluding that the evidence against him was insufficient to establish any level of misconduct.

Khan has strenuously denied allegations of sexual misconduct.

Read more: Exclusive: ICC bureau changes rules to lower threshold for Khan's removal