It’s published •update
Hungarian parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that would begin a one-year withdrawal from the national International Criminal Court (ICC).
The vote formalized the process launched by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in early April, and announced that his country would be leaving the World Court, which prosecutes people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
“Hungary firmly refuses to use international organizations, particularly criminal courts, as a means of political influence,” he said the bill, introduced by Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen, was published on the parliament’s website.
According to Orban, courts are no longer “fair” but rather “political courts.”
Budapest has denied an ICC arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is being called for suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israeli-Hamas War.
According to the warrant, Netanyahu should be arrested and threatened in ICC countries such as Hungary.
In March, Hungary violated the warrant when Netanyahu arrived in Budapest for a trip abroad. The ICC responded and launched a non-compliance lawsuit against Hungary.
Budapest openly rejected the idea of arresting Israeli leaders, calling the warrant “sarcasm and completely unacceptable.”
Netanyahu was called the Hungarian decision to entrust the ICC with a “bold and principled decision.”
Hungary’s decision to leave the ICC will be completed for at least a year. Upon withdrawal, Hungary will be the first European country of a 125-person court, leaving global authorities and will become the only unsigned member of the EU.
The court was established more than 20 years ago to prosecute the world’s most serious criminal cases, such as crimes against humanity and genocide. China, Russia, the US and Israel are not members of the courts.
