The Hungarian parliament has voted in favour of the country’s withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This was announced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on 29 April.
The withdrawal process is expected to last about a year.
In early April, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a joint press conference in Budapest with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hungary intends to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the ICC. He called it a firm and principled decision, accusing the court of being politicised.
Netanyahu was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the ICC on suspicion of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Hungary, as a participating country in the ICC, was supposed to arrest Netanyahu upon his arrival and hand him over to The Hague. However, Orban had given assurances even before the Israeli prime minister’s visit that this would not happen.
Hungary has become the first EU country to end its participation in the ICC.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump’s administration had imposed sanctions on the ICC-because of Netanyahu’s prosecution. Orban said at the time that Hungary needed to reconsider its relationship with the legal institution, which is under US sanctions.
The ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu has provoked contradictory reactions in other countries as well. In particular, German authorities have signalled that they are not ready to abide by the court’s decision, although they emphasise the importance of its work. Critics of the ICC’s decision on Netanyahu point out that they believe it undermines the legitimacy of other decisions of the court, in particular the arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is suspected of involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children, which is considered a war crime.
The International Criminal Court, established under the auspices of the United Nations, brings together more than 120 countries. Several major powers, including the US, Russia and China, do not recognise its jurisdiction. Israel does not recognise it either.