Hungarian Parliament has revoked country’s withdrawal from International Criminal Court
On Wednesday morning, the National Assembly voted under emergency procedures to pass a bill revoking Hungary's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.
This is reported by Telex, according to Censor.NET.
"Pros" and "Cons"
As noted, the proposal was supported by 133 members of the Tisza party, while 37 members of Fidesz–KDNP voted against it and 5 members of Mi Hazank abstained. The decision will take effect the day after the law is published.
Last week, the government had already expressed its intention in a resolution to halt the withdrawal process initiated by the previous government under Viktor Orbán.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar submitted a bill to parliament on Tuesday on behalf of the government. He justified the proposal by stating that "to preserve international peace and security and protect human rights, it is absolutely necessary to hold those guilty of the most serious international crimes accountable in an international judicial forum." According to him, this requires maintaining Hungary’s participation in the Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Background
Last spring, the Orbán government announced that it would initiate Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, but this decision was soon rejected by the Fidesz majority in parliament. When Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC, arrived in Budapest on an official visit last April, he was not arrested, even though Hungary, as a member of the International Criminal Court, would have been obligated to do so under international law.
Hungary's withdrawal process was supposed to be completed in June, but Péter Magyar had previously stated that the Tisza government's goal was to maintain its membership in the IOC.
What led up to
- As a reminder, on April 2, 2025, Hungarian Minister of Justice Bence Tuzson announced that Hungary intends to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
- It is worth noting that Hungary has signed and ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. In other words, Budapest has formally approved the statute but has not amended its legislation to implement it. Hungary did not execute the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stated that it would not do so in the case of Putin either.
- On April 29, 2025, the country's foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, announced that the Hungarian Parliament had voted to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.
