Gladness Gideon
Hungary’s government has declared its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move announced just hours before Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Budapest. The timing of the announcement has raised international scrutiny, given that Netanyahu is currently facing an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, confirmed the decision in a social media post on Thursday, stating, “Hungary exits the International Criminal Court.” He added that the government would formally initiate the withdrawal process in line with constitutional and international legal procedures.
This decision places Hungary among a small group of nations that have distanced themselves from the ICC. Since its establishment in 2002, only Burundi and the Philippines have officially withdrawn from the court, which was designed to prosecute individuals for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity when national governments fail to act.
Hungary originally signed the Rome Statute—the treaty that created the ICC—in 1999 and ratified it two years later during Orbán’s first term as prime minister. However, Budapest never fully incorporated the treaty into domestic law, asserting that it is not legally bound by ICC rulings.
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The timing of the withdrawal has sparked speculation that it is directly linked to Netanyahu’s visit, as Hungary has made clear it will not enforce the ICC’s arrest warrant against the Israeli leader. The move also aligns Hungary with countries such as the United States, Israel, China, and Russia, which do not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction.
The ICC has not yet responded to Hungary’s announcement, but legal experts say the withdrawal process is not immediate. Under ICC rules, a state’s exit takes effect one year after it formally submits its withdrawal to the UN Secretary-General.
This latest development further underscores Hungary’s increasingly defiant stance toward international institutions, reinforcing Orbán’s position as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of global governance bodies.