The removal of International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from the case of former president Rodrigo Duterte will have “no impact” on the current and future proceedings, the ICC spokesperson and the Office of the Prosecutor said.

In separate statements, ICC spokesperson Fadi el Abdallah confirmed that the appeals chamber of the ICC has decided to disqualify Khan based on the Rome Statute’s Article 42(7) that prohibits the prosecutor from participating “in any matter in which [his] impartiality might reasonably be doubted on any ground.”

But he stressed that, “This disqualification has no impact on the ongoing case against Mr Duterte.”

“The work of the Office of the Prosecutor on the situation related to the Philippines is led by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang,” El Abdallah added.

Niang has been handling the case versus Duterte since May when Khan went on leave due to allegations of sexual misconduct.

The appeals chamber, the spokesperson said, disqualified Khan in relation to his involvement prior to his appointment at the ICC in submitting an Article 15 communication to former prosecutor Mme Fatou Bensouda.

He, however, clarified that the appeals chamber “did not consider that actual bias on the part of the Prosecutor had been demonstrated in the Defence’s request.”

“However, it concluded that a number of factors may give rise to an objectively reasonable appearance of bias in the eyes of a reasonable observer, such that they would conclude that the Prosecutor could be expected to have formed an opinion on the case against Mr Duterte during his involvement in the Article 15 communication that, objectively, could adversely affect his required impartiality,” he added.

The Office of the Prosecutor, in a statement, also acknowledged Khan’s disqualification, but assured that it has no effect on the ongoing case against the former president.

“This decision does not affect the continuation of the proceedings in this case, which is led from the Office of the Prosecutor by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang,” the office said.

It added that the “investigative and prosecutorial activities” in Duterte’s case was led by a investigative and prosecutorial activities under Niang’s supervision and that it advanced the case “solely on the strength of independently gathered evidence, and information collected from a wide range of sources, including interviews with witnesses, information from States, international partners, and civil society, as well as publicly available information.”

“The victims and survivors in the Philippines situation deserve justice and accountability. The Office’s activities in this case will continue, contributing to ensuring that justice is pursued impartially and independently,” the office stressed.

Last week, the ICC rejected the interim release bid of the former president. This came after it also postponed the Sept. 23 confirmation of charges hearing after the defense team claimed that Duterte was unfit to stand trial.

The former president, who has been detained in The Hague since March, is facing crimes against humanity of murder charges for the state-sponsored killings under his administration’s war on drugs policy.