Can a New Chief Prosecutor Revitalize the ICC?

Can a New Chief Prosecutor Revitalize the ICC?
Karim Khan in the courtroom of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands, June 4, 2007 (pool photo by Robert Vos via AP Images).

The member states of the International Criminal Court recently appointed British lawyer Karim Khan as the ICC’s next chief prosecutor. He is expected to start his nine-year term in June, replacing Gambian attorney Fatou Bensouda in the role. Khan is a veteran of the international legal world, having served as both prosecutor and defense counsel in a number of prominent cases. He also recently led a special U.N. investigation into crimes committed by the Islamic State group.

But his upcoming stint as the ICC’s chief prosecutor will arguably be his most challenging assignment yet, given the many criticisms the court has faced in the past. Khan will also need to oversee high-stakes investigations into allegations of war crimes committed by U.S. forces and other combatants in Afghanistan, as well as in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

On the Trend Lines podcast this week, Kyle Rapp, a doctoral student specializing in international law at the University of Southern California, joined WPR’s Elliot Waldman to discuss Khan’s vision for the ICC and the tough balancing act he will face in the job.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review