Last month, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan KC, was suspended after an investigation into a series of sexual harassment allegations. A leaked copy of that investigation reveals that the woman behind the allegations, who went public last week in an interview with CNN, says that Khan repeatedly subjected her to non-consensual sexual acts including groping, attempted kissing and digital and genital penetration. Khan has denied all her claims.

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Today, a committee of diplomats from 21 of the ICC’s 125 member states will vote on whether to make Khan’s suspension permanent and what, if any, disciplinary action to take. 

This piece is not about the allegations; the only people who know what actually happened are Khan, the complainant and any witnesses. It is, rather, about the insight the case offers into how nations and their intermediaries try to shape the narratives, credibility and outcomes of global justice institutions, namely the ICC and the International Court of Justice. 

The picture that is revealed is not merely murky. It undermines any claims that the ICC and its counterpart, the ICJ, have to being impartial arbiters of truth. In reality, they are tools used by states to help pursue their policy agendas. In the specific case of the allegations about Khan, it seems clear that Qatar has been seeking to use the ICC to further its own agenda towards Israel – which is especially concerning........

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