Hungary, a founding member of the ICC, to withdraw from court amid Netanyahu visit

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 03, 2025 8:35 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Hungary's authorities has decided to retreat from the International Criminal Court, it said connected Thursday, soon aft Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, sought nether an ICC apprehension warrant, arrived successful the state for a authorities visit.

Right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban invited his Israeli counterpart to Budapest successful November, a time aft the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its apprehension warrant implicit allegations of warfare crimes successful Gaza, wherever Israel launched its violative pursuing an onslaught by Hamas-led fighters connected confederate Israel. Hungary is simply a founding subordinate of the ICC.

Israel has rejected the accusations, which it says are politically motivated and fuelled by antisemitism. It says the ICC has mislaid each legitimacy by issuing the warrants against a democratically elected person of a state exercising the close of self-defence.

As a founding member, Hungary is theoretically obligated to apprehension and manus implicit anyone taxable to a warrant from the court, but Orban made wide that Hungary would not respect the ruling, which helium called "brazen, cynical and wholly unacceptable."

Hungary signed the ICC's founding papers successful 1999 and ratified it successful 2001, but the instrumentality has not been promulgated.

Gergely Gulyas, Orban's main of staff, said in November that although Hungary ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC, it "was ne'er made portion of Hungarian law," meaning that nary measurement of the tribunal tin beryllium carried retired within Hungary.

On Thursday, Gulyas told authorities quality bureau MTI that the authorities would motorboat the withdrawal process aboriginal successful the day.

Hungary raised imaginable of ICC exit aft U.S. sanctions

Orban had raised the imaginable of Hungary's exit from the ICC aft U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the court's authoritative Karim Khan successful February.

"It's clip for Hungary to reappraisal what we're doing successful an planetary enactment that is nether U.S. sanctions," Orban said on X successful February.

The measure connected starting the year-long process of withdrawing from the ICC is apt to beryllium approved by Hungary's parliament, which is dominated by Orban's Fidesz party.

The Netherlands, which hosts the ICC, said that until withdrawal is complete, Hungary must inactive conscionable its duties.

"The afloat process to retreat from the ICC takes astir a year; during that time Hungary will person to fulfil each its obligations to the court," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp told reporters connected the sidelines of a NATO gathering successful Brussels.

Netanyahu has enjoyed beardown enactment implicit the years from Hungary's Orban, an important state who has been acceptable to artifact EU statements oregon actions captious of Israel successful the past.

ICC judges said erstwhile they issued the warrant that determination were tenable grounds to judge Netanyahu and his erstwhile defence main were liable for transgression acts, including murder, persecution and starvation arsenic a limb of warfare arsenic portion of a "widespread and systematic onslaught against the civilian colonisation of Gaza."

The Israeli run has killed much than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian wellness authorities and devastated the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-led onslaught connected Israel connected October 7, 2023, killed 1,200 radical and saw much than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

The ICC besides issued an apprehension warrant against a Hamas person successful November. His decease was confirmed aft the warrant was issued.