Hungary votes to withdraw from International Criminal Court over Israeli warrants

HUNGARY: THE Hungarian parliament voted to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused the tribunal of being “motivated by political intentions.”

Following Tuesday’s vote, withdrawing from the ICC jurisdiction will take a year, once Budapest officially notifies the Secretary General of the United Nations of its decision.

Orbán kicked off the withdrawal process in early April as he welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, during a state visit to Hungary

The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and his defense minister Yoav Gallant last year, accusing the Israeli prime minister of alleged war crimes perpetrated by Israel’s military during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The court also issued an arrest warrant against top Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who has since been believed to have been killed by Israeli forces.

“We are convinced that [the ICC] has become a political court. In the past years, it has become not a court of the rule of law but a political court, which is not unbiased,” Orbán said on April 3.

Hungary signed and ratified the Rome Statute in 2001, during Orbán’s first term, but did not formally incorporate it into national law, citing constitutional conflict.

Loss ‘of impartiality and credibility’

Commenting on Tuesday’s parliamentary vote, Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, reiterated Orbán’s accusations against the ICC in a post on X.

He wrote: “With this decision, we refuse to be part of a politicized institution that has lost its impartiality and credibility.”

His Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, applauded the vote result, Times of Israel reported.

“Thank you, Hungary, for your clear moral stance!” Sa’ar wrote in response to Szijjártó’s post.

Israel rejects the ICC’s jurisdiction over its nationals and has accused the court of attempting to delegitimize Israel.

ICC takes a step back

Last Thursday, the ICC’s appeals judges ordered a lower panel to reconsider Israel’s objections to the court’s jurisdiction over the arrest warrants.

The appeals chamber said the court had not properly weighed challenges by Israel to its jurisdiction and the legality of arrest warrant requests against Netanyahu and Gallant for their conduct of the Gaza war.

The so-called Pre-Trial Chamber had ruled that Israel’s challenges had been premature, but the appeals judges now said that had been an “error of law.”

The office of the ICC Prosecutor said it was studying the new ruling, without offering further comment.