Mr Khan, who was born in Edinburgh, called to Lincoln’s Inn in 1992, having obtained an LLB degree and AKC from King’s College London. He later obtained a D.Phil from Oxford University and served as a crown prosecutor before embarking on an international career.

Judge Piotr Hofmański presided over the swearing-in ceremony in The Hague.

Reflecting on the critical role of the prosecutor in the court’s work he said: “While Judges are the ones who ultimately decide on the verdict in each case, it is also true that those cases would never reach the judges without the prosecutor’s decision to bring them to court. 

“And it is the prosecutor who is responsible for the way in which preliminary examinations, investigations and prosecutions are conducted, and how evidence for the prosecution is selected and presented.” 

“On behalf of the court, I offer heartfelt congratulations to Mr Karim Asad Ahmad Khan QC. As president of the court, I look forward to working with him to strengthen our joint institution”, he added.

The Vice-President of the Assembly of States Parties, H.E. Ambassador Kateřina Sequensová, speaking on behalf of the ASP, said that Mr Khan brings “an impressive amount of experience in international criminal justice” and that she was confident that his tenure “will constitute a fundamental pillar in the process of delivering international justice which we are all deeply committed to”. H.E.

Mr Khan took a public oath of office, declaring: “I solemnly undertake that I will perform my duties and exercise my powers as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court honourably, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously, and that I will respect the confidentiality of investigations and prosecutions.”

Mr Khan then signed his oath before the ICC registrar, Peter Lewis, and delivered his first remarks as the prosecutor of the ICC.

He said: “The Rome Statute architecture is a promise to the future that tomorrow need not be as bleak and sorrowful as yesterday.

“I am truly and sincerely humbled at my opportunity to serve, and the responsibilities that have been entrusted in me. I will do my utmost to discharge those responsibilities without fear or favour, faithfully and with integrity, and in full conformity with the solemn declaration that I have just given”, he added.