Hungary has announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Budapest for his first trip to Europe since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him, Hungarian state media reported on April 3.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent an invitation to Netanyahu last November, the day after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky met Netanyahu at the Budapest airport around 2:30 a.m. local time.
A few hours later, Gergely Gulyas, Orban's chief of cabinet, said the government was going to withdraw from the court in The Hague, confirming what diplomatic sources in Hungary had told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) earlier this week.
"Hungary will exit the International Criminal Court," Gulyas said. "The government will start the exit procedure on Thursday (April 3) by the constitutional and international legal framework."
The withdrawal from the ICC is expected to take up to a year, as the Hungarian parliament has yet to approve such a step.
As an ICC member, Hungary is obliged to arrest Netanyahu, but has not done so. Since the ICC has no police force, it cannot enforce its decisions and relies on other countries.
The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March 2023 for the forcible transfer of children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
In September 2024, Putin visited Mongolia at the invitation of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, which marked Putin’s first trip to an ICC member country since the court issued an arrest warrant for him.
Mongolia did not arrest Putin, citing energy dependence as a reason for not executing the warrant and implying that their hands were tied.
Dominic Culverwell
(Updated: )
