Hungarian Parliament approves bill on withdrawal from International Criminal Court

The Hungarian parliament has approved a bill on the country's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC). This was reported by the Reuters news agency on May 20.

As specified, the decision launches a one-year withdrawal process, during which the country will officially cease to participate in the work of the court.

The agency recalls that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other politicians have stated that this court has lost its independence and has become "politicized." As an example, the Hungarian authorities pointed to the warrant issued by the ICC for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He visited Budapest in April, where the authorities did not apply any sanctions against him, despite the ICC warrant.

On April 3, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the country's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying that the organization had lost its independence. According to him, this was especially evident in the court's decisions on Israel. The Head of Government stressed that Hungary, as a democratic constitutional state, cannot participate in the work of a politically motivated international court.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant on November 21, 2024. The court ruled that the two politicians were responsible for war crimes against the civilian population. The United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Estonia expressed their willingness to comply with this court decision, while the United States and France opposed it.