Hungary is set to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), with Prime Minister Viktor Orban labeling the court as a “political tool.”
This announcement comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Hungary, an EU and NATO member. The ICC is seeking Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza.
During a joint press conference on Thursday, Orban stated that the ICC had become a “political court” and was no longer impartial.
He insisted that Hungary, as a “democratic state governed by the rule of law, cannot participate in this.”
Netanyahu thanked Budapest for its “brave step” in withdrawing from what he called “a corrupt organization” that targets Israel instead of terrorists.
Earlier on Thursday, Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, announced that the official withdrawal process from the ICC would begin later that day, “in accordance with [the] constitutional and international legal framework.”
Budapest originally signed the Rome Statute, which grants the ICC its authority, in 1999 and ratified it two years later.
Following the ICC’s issuance of an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, Orban invited him to Hungary, assuring him that “if he comes, the ICC ruling will have no effect in Hungary, and we will not follow its contents.”
The ICC lacks its own police force and depends on member states to apprehend and transfer suspects. Currently, 123 countries recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction.
In February, the US administration under President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC and its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, for pursuing Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The US is not a party to the ICC, and other non-participating states include Russia, China, and Israel.
In March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Moscow dismissed the warrants as “null and void,” claiming the children were evacuated for safety and could be returned to their parents or guardians upon request.