The International Criminal Court faces a challenging search for a new prosecutor after Karim Khan was dismissed, against the backdrop of a US diplomatic campaign to undermine the court and a rise in states withdrawing from the institution.
On Monday, Chad became the fifth country to start the formal withdrawal process in recent months, following Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The African state’s announcement came just days after 82 of the court’s 125 member states voted to dismiss Khan for serious misconduct.
That triggered an election process for a new prosecutor, but details still have to be hammered out, and a vote is not expected before the new year.
After Khan’s removal from office, the court said it will continue to carry out its mandate.
“The ICC remains firmly committed to advancing accountability and delivering justice for victims of crimes that deeply shock the conscience of humanity,” it said.
While the ICC member states consider the procedure to find Khan’s replacement, the office of the prosecutor will be run by the current deputy prosecutors, Nazhat Shameen Khan from Fiji and Senegal’s Mame Mandiaye Niang.
Court watchers say it may be hard to find a good replacement for Khan amid the US’s ramped-up diplomatic campaign.
“Who is now going to want to nominate for a position that has such challenges, because they know they will automatically be sanctioned by the US?” Melanie O’Brien, professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told Reuters.
Washington wants the ICC to drop its arrest warrants against Israeli leaders over Gaza and to stop investigating alleged crimes involving US troops.
Officials told Reuters they were considering pressuring countries to withdraw from the court.
Chad announced its withdrawal on Monday, and late Friday Venezuela, where the ICC had been conducting investigations into allegations of crimes against humanity by the previous government, said it had started the formal procedure to withdraw. Both states accused the court of disproportionately focusing on non-Western states.
In early July the court said three military-led African countries — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — formally started their withdrawal, which took a year to go into effect.
The European Union and several of the court’s big backers, including the Netherlands and Japan, one of the court’s biggest financial contributors, have voiced support for the court and concern over the US position but have not announced any practical steps to shore up the institution.
In the coming months, the court’s governing body, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), is expected to set out the specific procedure for the election of a new prosecutor.
Many legal commentators have criticised the process around Khan’s removal for its lack of transparency.
The next election will be a litmus test, especially since earlier votes were criticised for facing a lot of political influence and last-minute changes of procedure, according to Ezequiel Jimenez Martinez, who wrote a book on governing the ICC.
“The ASP now needs to reassure stakeholders it has the stamina to support the court in its darkest hour and elect a prosecutor worthy of the office and role,” he told Reuters.
