ICC chief prosecutor faces misconduct inquiry

The International Criminal Court's governing body will launch an external investigation into its chief prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Khan is called on in an internal document circulated to member states to temporarily step down from his role at the world's permanent war crimes court, based in The Hague, while an inquiry is ongoing.

The undated and unsigned document was circulated to member states by ICC staff.

Khan's office 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's governing body last month. At that time he asked the court's own internal oversight body to investigate them.

A source with knowledge of the matter said an external probe was agreed at a meeting of a core group of the court's governing body, the Assembly of States Parties.

ICC judges are currently reviewing a request Khan made in May for arrest warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense 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's independent, 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's internal body, whose incoming head is a former member of Khan's staff, because details of reports to it about the alleged misconduct were leaked.

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.