‘No Longer an Impartial Court’: Hungary Announced Withdrawal From ICC

Latest Developments

Announced During Netanyahu Visit: Hungary announced on April 3 that it would withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which issued arrest warrants for two Israeli leaders last year. The announcement came hours after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest. “This is no longer an impartial court, a rule-of-law court, but rather a political court,” Orban said during a news conference with Netanyahu. “This has become the clearest in light of its decisions on Israel.”
First EU State to Announce Exit: The move makes Hungary the first member of the European Union to withdraw from the ICC. A day after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, Orban said that Netanyahu was welcome to visit the country and would not be arrested there. Other ICC members, including France, Italy, Poland, and Germany have also indicated that they would not arrest Netanyahu.
U.S. Sanctions Against ICC: The ICC’s arrest warrants accused Netanyahu and Gallant of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. The Biden administration denounced the warrants, saying that the court lacked jurisdiction, as Israel is not a member of the ICC. On February 6, President Donald Trump signed an executive order sanctioning the ICC, levying visa restrictions and financial sanctions against ICC officials found to have assisted in the court’s investigations of U.S. citizens or allies.

FDD Expert Response

“Hungary is right not to arrest Netanyahu. The ICC warrant for Netanyahu was a political move, unsupported by the facts or law, which was engineered by ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in a desperate attempt to distract from his own sexual harassment scandal. While the ICC’s charter has often been characterized as requiring member states to arrest all persons for whom the ICC has issued warrants, that interpretation conflicts with international law’s longstanding provision that heads of state, particularly heads of states that are not ICC members, are immune from arrest by other states.” — Orde Kittrie, Senior Fellow

“The ICC is just one of many international institutions the Palestinians have hijacked in their quest to destroy the State of Israel. But it might have bitten off more than it can chew by issuing bogus arrest warrants for Israeli leaders fighting a defensive war against Hamas. Hungary’s departure could serve as a wake-up call for countries concerned about the court serving as a tool for terrorist groups and about the court holding the Jewish state to antisemitic double standards.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst