The International Criminal Court (ICC) has removed its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, from handling the case against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, citing a potential conflict of interest.

Khan’s deputy, Mame Mandiaye Niang, will now lead the case, though he too has drawn scrutiny, being targeted by Washington sanctions linked to the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel in Gaza.

The decision, seen by Reuters, marks another damaging episode for the embattled prosecutor, who has already stepped aside pending a UN investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

The court’s Appeals Chamber ruled on 2 October that Khan’s previous work representing the Philippines Human Rights Commission, during which he was involved in submissions identifying Duterte as a suspect in the country’s brutal “war on drugs,” created the appearance of bias.

Defence lawyers for the former president successfully argued that Khan’s past advocacy rendered him incapable of impartiality.

The disqualification removes Khan from the ICC’s highest-profile active prosecution.

Duterte, arrested in March and accused of orchestrating thousands of extrajudicial killings during his six-year rule, remains in detention in The Hague.

His legal team insists that his arrest was unlawful and that he is medically unfit to stand trial.

 

The setback adds to a string of recent embarrassments for Khan, who was also ordered in August to recuse himself from the Venezuela probe because of his sister-in-law’s legal work for the Maduro government.

 

The combination of ethical controversies, personal scandal, and political headwinds, most notably American hostility to the court, has left the ICC’s credibility under renewed strain.

 

For an institution already struggling to assert its independence, the disqualification of its top prosecutor from a landmark case is a heavy blow.

 

The episode underscores the fragile balance between the court’s pursuit of global justice and the reputational risks of its own leadership.