The UK's Bar Standards Board (BSB) said it has imposed an interim suspension on Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
It comes after Khan, who in 2024 applied for an arrest warrant to be issued for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was suspended by the ICC on 8 June over sexual misconduct accusations.
"Under the BSB's Enforcement Regulations, the interim suspension must now be considered by an Interim Suspension Panel at a hearing within the next four weeks," the Bar Standards Board said, adding that the suspension was effective immediately.
The BSB regulates barristers and specialised legal services businesses in England and Wales in the public interest.
Khan, 56, who investigates war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, denies the allegations made against him.
The ICC's 125 member states will vote on his fate at a special session of its governing body, the Assembly of States Parties, on 24 July.
After the allegations against Khan emerged in 2024, it commissioned an external UN investigation. In May 2025, Khan went on voluntary leave and his two deputies took over his duties.
A summary seen by Reuters said the confidential 18-month inquiry had found a "factual basis" for the allegations, made by a female aide, that he had had a non-consensual sexual relationship with a younger staff member.
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Khan holds that he did nothing wrong and has said he will take all necessary steps to challenge his ICC suspension.
The allegations against Khan were first reported more than two years ago to the court's independent watchdog.
Only the Assembly of States Parties has the authority to remove Khan from office, which would require a majority in a secret ballot of its 125 member states.
Sixty-three nations would need to support a measure to remove him.
The ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes court, opened in 2002 to prosecute those involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide enacted by nationals of member states or on the territory of its members.
The US is not an ICC member and has sanctioned 11 ICC judges and prosecutors, including Khan, for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and for a past investigation into US troops in Afghanistan.
Trump's administration has threatened more sanctions against the institution.
In response to the Bar Standards Board suspension, Carter-Ruck Solicitors, representing Khan, said: "As he has consistently made clear, Mr Khan unequivocally denies all allegations of impropriety. He maintains that he has acted at all times fully in accordance with his professional obligations.
"The interim action which has been taken by the Bar Standards Board is based on a decision announced on 8 June 2026 by the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC.
"Our client highlights that an independent Judicial Panel, appointed by the Bureau itself, came to the unanimous conclusion that the evidence and factual findings by the UN Office of Internal Oversight "did not establish misconduct or breach of duty under the relevant legal framework". Nevertheless, the Bureau - an executive and political body - has purported to substitute its own assessment for that of the independent judges it appointed.
"Mr Khan's legal team is taking all necessary steps to challenge the decision of the Bureau, protect his rights, and ensure that due process is upheld."
(c) Sky News 2026: ICC prosecutor Karim Khan suspended by UK's Bar Standards Board
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