Budapest (TDI): Hungary’s parliament approved a bill on Tuesday that will start the country’s year-long withdrawal process from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government said has become “political.”
Orban’s government announced the decision on April 3, shortly after Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Hungary for a state visit in a rare trip abroad in defiance of an ICC arrest warrant. The Court’s Presidency of the Assembly of State Parties expressed concern at the move.
The ICC was set up over two decades ago to prosecute those accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Orban said in April that the ICC was “no longer an impartial court, a rule-of-law court, but rather a political court.”
Hungary has rejected the idea of arresting Netwnyahu and has termed the warrant “brazen.”
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Hungary is a founding member of the court and ratified its founding document in 2001. However, the law has not been promulgated.
The bill to withdraw from the court passed on Tuesday with 134 members voting in favor and 37 opposed it.
“Hungary absolutely rejects the use of global organizations — especially criminal courts — as instruments of political influence,” the draft, submitted by Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen, noted.
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Netanyahu hailed Hungary’s decision to leave the court a “bold and principled decision,” according to Reuters.
He faces an ICC arrest warrant over accusations of war crimes in Gaza as Israel expands its military operation in the besieged enclave. Netanyahu has denied the charges.
A country’s withdrawal from the ICC comes into effect one year after the US Secretary-General receives a written notification of the decision.
