THE HAGUE, June 19 (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Britain’s Bar Standards Board announced on Friday it has imposed an immediate interim suspension on Karim Khan, prohibiting him from practicing law in the United Kingdom. This decision follows ongoing disciplinary proceedings regarding serious sexual misconduct allegations.
The board stated the suspension is effective immediately under its Enforcement Regulations. An independent Interim Suspension Panel must now review this temporary decision during a formal hearing scheduled to take place within the next four weeks.
This action compounds an ongoing crisis for the 56-year-old lawyer, who was previously suspended by the International Criminal Court on June 8. That decision followed an 18-month United Nations inquiry that concluded there was a factual basis for claims involving coercive, non-consensual sexual behavior between 2023 and 2024.
Karim Khan denies the allegations made against him.
The 125 member states of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties are scheduled to conduct a secret ballot on July 24 to vote on his permanent removal. Khan previously made history as the first ICC Prosecutor elected by secret ballot in 2021, defeating candidates from Ireland, Spain, and Italy to secure his nine-year term. He had taken a voluntary leave of absence in May 2025 while the international probe remained active.
