New ICC Prosecutor Swearing In Today

A new prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, will be sworn in today for a term of nine years following his election by the members of the ICC.

Khan, from the United Kingdom, was a legal adviser in the prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He also served as defense counsel on various cases at the ICC, the Yugoslav tribunal, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He was most recently the head of the United Nations Security Council-mandated investigation of crimes committed by the extremist armed group Islamic State (also known as ISIS) in Iraq.

Khan succeeds Fatou Bensouda, who has served as the ICC’s prosecutor since 2012. He will have the ability to shape the Court's docket going forward, including controversial investigations into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan and Palestine.

(cgb)