Following a vote of the member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, was removed from his post on July 24, 2026, over allegations that he sexually assaulted another court employee. In a piece published by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Advisory Council Member Orde Kittrie argues that this misconduct drove Khan’s prosecutorial decisions and contributed to the court’s illegitimacy in the eyes of the United States.

Orde Kittrie, an Arizona State University law professor and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, previously served as the lead U.S. State Department attorney for nuclear issues. He is a member of CERL’s Advisory Council. Read his bio here.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of any organization or university.