By Jacinth Banite
Hungary became the first member of the European Union to pull out of the International Criminal Court (ICC) when the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced its exit from the global tribunal after welcoming criminally accused Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for a state visit.
At the invitation of Orban, Netanyahu set foot in Hungary on April 3, in defiance of the ICC’s arrest warrant on accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated in the Palestinian territory of Gaza Strip “from at least October 8, 2023 to at least May 20, 2024”.
The warrant, issued in November 2024, concerns the brutal armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has now killed more than 50,000 people, most of whom were civilians in Gaza.
While many world leaders welcomed the issuance of a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest, Orban was among those who criticised the move.
Orban, Netanyahu face reporters
As an ICC member, Hungary was obligated to arrest Netanyahu when he visited.
However, that did not happen on April 3 after Orban had earlier promised that the court’s ruling would have “no effect” in his country.
He reiterated his stance on the matter at a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Budapest, accusing the ICC of becoming a “political court” and citing the warrant against the Israeli leader as a “clear” indication of his claim.
Orban then spoke of Hungary’s withdrawal from the ICC.
“This very important court has been diminished to a political tool and Hungary wishes to play no role in it,” he told reporters.
Netanyahu, who had previously denounced the ICC’s warrant as “absurd and antisemitic”, called the Orban government’s decision “bold and principled”.
“It’s important for all democracies. It’s important to stand up to this corrupt organisation,” he was quoted as saying during Thursday’s conference.
In a Facebook post on the same day, Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas confirmed that Hungary is exiting the court after 23 years of membership.
“The government will initiate the dismissal proceedings on Thursday (April 3) in accordance with constitutional and international law frameworks,” he wrote, without elaborating.
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The ICC reacts
In a statement responding to Hungary’s announcement of its withdrawal, the ICC expressed regrets about “this turn of events”.
“When a State Party withdraws from the Rome Statute (the founding treaty of ICC), it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity,” the court lamented.
It further pointed out that “The ICC is at the centre of the global commitment to accountability, and in order to maintain its strength, it is imperative that the international community support it without reservation.”
“Justice requires our unity,” it stressed.
The ICC then called on the government of Hungary “to continue to be a resolute party to the Rome Statute”.
“Every State Party has the right to voice its concerns before the Assembly, and the Presidency strongly encourages Hungary to have a meaningful discussion on this issue,” it said.
“The Presidency reminds that a State Party shall not be discharged, by reason of its withdrawal, from the obligations arising from the Rome Statute while it was a Party to the Statute.”
Established in 1998, the ICC is the world’s first and only permanent tribunal for war crimes and genocide, according to a report by ABC News.
It is legally bound by the Rome Statute, a treaty ratified by 125 countries, with Hungary being one of its founding members.
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