The International Criminal Court (ICC) appeals judges disqualified chief prosecutor Karim Khan from participating in the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
According to a document of the decision seen by Reuters, Khan was excluded from the crimes against humanity charges against Duterte citing a possible conflict of interest.
As such, Khan is barred from taking part in the prosecution of Duterte, which is the only major active case pending before the international court.
In August, the defense requested to disqualify the chief prosecutor grounded in an “irreconcilable conflict of interest arising out of his former representation of victims of an alleged policy of extra-judicial drug-related killings in the country.”
“A fair and informed observer could reasonably perceive bias warranting the Prosecutor’s disqualification. Mr Khan did not disclose his conflict of interest – of which he was aware from the beginning – until 6 March 2025… Mr Khan should, as a result, be disqualified from any further involvement in the case against Mr Duterte,” the request read.
In February 2021, Khan was elected prosecutor of the ICC. Prior to his election, he served as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and served as the first Special Adviser and Head of the United Nations Investigative Team to promote accountability for crimes committed by Da’esh/ISIL in Iraq (UNITAD) between 2018 to 2021.
In September 2021, he was authorized to investigate alleged crimes against humanity committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 in the context of the so-called “war on drugs.”
Khan and the prosecution team have yet to comment on this development.
