The trial of the Consortium leaders: Profiling the man heading the defense ⁰

Karim Ahmad Khan is a British lawyer and specialist in international criminal law and international human rights law. He was called to the bar in 1992 at London’s Lincoln’s Inn and later attended Wolfson College at Oxford University for doctoral studies in law. He presently carries on an international practice before courts in Britain and abroad.

He worked as a Senior Crown Prosecutor at the British Law Commission and from 1997-2000 served as a legal adviser to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and later as defence counsel before Special Courts in East Timor, Sierra Leone and Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He is the lead counsel in the defense team of William Ruto at the International Criminal Court. In addition to international criminal and human rights law, he has in-depth experience and expertise in immigration and asylum law and is an approved counsel to act for Britain’s Attorney General. His international standing and expertise was further recognized by the offer of the post of international legal adviser to the Appeals Chamber of the Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) in 2005.[1] He was also made a member of the Queens Council.

Karim Ahmad Khan was appointed to lead the Defence team of President Charles Taylor of Liberia at the Special Tribunal.He was recently the head of incumbent Kenyan Deputy-President, His Excellency Mr. William Ruto’s defense team at the Hague before the latter’s case was dismissed on 5 April 2016

Career

Honorary lecturer, School of Law, University of Utrecht, Netherlands (2010-11; 2011-to date); former senior research fellow, Dept of War Studies, Kings College, London; director, Peace and Justice Initiative; director of Global Victims Initiative; former member Executive Board of ICTY, current member (with ICTY judiciary) of ICTY Disciplinary Appeals Board and election to Disciplinary Appeals Board of ICC (along with ICC judiciary); former legal adviser, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (International Law Appeals); grade 7 lawyer, Law Commission of England and Wales (1996-97); former senior crown prosecutor (1993-96). Publications: co-author, ‘Archbold International Criminal Courts’ (Sweet & Maxwell; 1st, 2nd and 3rd edition); co-editor and contributing author, ‘Principles of Evidence in International Criminal Justice’ (OUP 2010); co-editor, ‘International Criminal Law Reports’ (ICLR, 2006 to date); contributing author, ‘A Commentary to the Rome Statue on the ICC’ (Baden-Baden 2000; 2008); contributor, ‘Human Rights Practice’ (Sweet & Maxwell, 2002 to date); author, Oxford Transitional Justice Research -Working Papers Series (2010); co-author, ‘Enlargement and human rights law, norms and realities’ (Manchester University Press, 2007).

Member

Association of Defence Counsel; International Legal Assistance Consortium; International Criminal Defence Bar; International Bar Association.

Education

Silcoates School, West Yorkshire; Kings College, University of London (LLB Hons); King’s College London, (AKC); Inns of Court School of Law; member of Lincoln’s Inn; CIFE (Distinction, diploma international relations); Abo Akedemi, Turku Law School, Finland (advanced diploma in protection of Human Rights); Wolfson College, Oxford (P Phil, candidate); University College, Pristina, Kosovo (doctorate, honoris causa). Awarded 1999 John D & Catherine MacArthur Foundation Fellowship on International Peace and Security; Alexander Maxwell Law Scholarship Trust Award winner 2001