Hungary, one of the closest European allies of Israel, has announced that it is taking steps to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The announcement was made by Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Victor Orban as he stood by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netananyhu, wanted on war crimes charges by the ICC, shortly after he arrived on an official visit to the capital Budapest on 3 April.
In a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Orban attacked the ICC, saying it has become “a political court” due to its decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his then defence minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024.
“A self-respecting democratic, constitutional state like Hungary will not and cannot participate in an international court which operates on the basis of political motivations,” Orban said, who instructed Hungary’s foreign minister to submit a bill to the Hungarian Parliament on the same day to withdraw from and renounce the Rome Statute.
Under Orban’s conservative rule, which has spanned 12 years, Hungary has faced international criticism over its democratic standards and its curbing of free speech and minority rights. During his conference with Netanyahu, Orban said Hungary is “a determined guardian and standard-bearer of Judeo-Christian civilisation.”
Hungary became a state party to the Rome Statute in 2001 and remained an active member as recently as December 2024 when it voted for a resolution reaffirming its unwavering support for the ICC as an independent and impartial judicial institution.
According to Israel’s Channel 12 news, the ICC sent a request to the Hungarian government to arrest and surrender Netanyahu to its detention centre in The Hague when he arrived in Hungary. The request was sent several hours after Netanyahu landed in the country on 3 April, but the Hungarian government refused to comply and promptly announced it was quitting the ICC.
A statement by the ICC presidency expressed concern at Orban’s announcement. “When a State Party withdraws from the Rome Statute, it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity,” it said. “In order to maintain its strength, it is imperative that the international community support [the court] without reservation. Justice requires our unity.”
By leaving the ICC, Hungary sets a precedent in becoming the first European state to officially turn against the Rome Statute that sets out the Court’s jurisdiction over charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Until Hungary’s announcement last week, all 27 European Union states were members of the Rome Statute and the ICC.
By choosing to withdraw from the ICC and ignore Netanyahu’s arrest warrant, Hungary is once again misleading Europe, said Mireia Faro Sarrats, a communications officer of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Hungary might be part of the EU, she said, but it continues to act against the values and principles for which the bloc stands.
“Orban’s belligerence could negatively impact EU internal unity and damage its reputation as a global advocate for peace and justice,” Sarrats said.
The US and Israel have never ratified the Rome Statute and have rejected the court’s jurisdiction over Israel and the Palestinian territories. Although Israel is not a member, Palestine is a member of the Rome Statute, which gives the ICC jurisdiction over the Occupied Territories.
While the US supported the ICC’s arrest warrant for Russian President Vladmir Putin in 2023, it rejected and attacked the court for seeking the arrest of Israel’s premier on charges of war crimes in Gaza. In February this year, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the court.
In response, dozens of EU states expressed their support for the court and its staff. A majority of member states, including the UK, Germany, and France, said the ICC was “a vital pillar of the international justice system.”
Orban was quick to ban antiwar protests in Hungary only a week after Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip started in October 2023. “It is shocking that there are sympathy rallies supporting the terrorists across Europe,” he said, referring to worldwide and European Palestine solidarity protests.
The explosive components used in Israel’s pager attacks on thousands of Lebanese in September 2024 were manufactured in Hungary, according to the Economy Minister of Taiwan where the pagers were originally made. The pager attacks killed 37 people and wounded about 3,000 in Lebanon.
In its staunch support for Israel, Hungary has broken the European consensus many times to side with the Israeli occupation. In 2019, Hungary opened a trade office in Jerusalem, recognising it as an integral part of Israel although it is considered occupied territory by the UN and the EU.
Since the ICC issued his arrest warrant, Netanyahu had not set foot in Europe before Hungary’s invitation, which was meant to break his isolation, observers say.
According to an adviser to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Netanyhau’s visit to Budapest has less to do with diplomacy than with challenging the ICC, which has ostracised Israel and its prime minister.
“This was more than a diplomatic visit – it was a symbolic act of resistance,” Israeli commentator Fiamma Nirenstein wrote on the Jerusalem Centre for Security and Foreign Affairs website. By stepping foot safely on European soil, she said, “Netanyahu has confronted the legitimacy of the ICC and the falsehoods it propagates, especially as Orban declares his intention to withdraw from the institution.”
Rome Statute member states are legally obliged to arrest and surrender Netanyahu and Gallant should they enter their countries.
Despite their support for the court in February, some European states are now taking steps to row back from their commitment to the Rome Statute after Hungary’s announcement.
On Sunday, Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever said that Netanyahu would not be arrested if he visited Belgium.
“There is such a thing as realpolitik,” De Wever said. “Within the framework of realpolitik, practical considerations prevail over ethical considerations. I don’t think there is a single European country that would arrest Netanyahu if he went there. France, for example, wouldn’t, and I don’t think we would either.”
In November 2024, the French Foreign Ministry said Netanyahu had immunity from the ICC arrest warrant because Israel was not signatory to the Statute. France had initially signalled that it would fulfil its obligations as a signatory to the Rome Statute if Netanyahu visited the country.
During his visit in Budapest, Netanyahu said that the ICC is “corrupt game” and that it is time to ring the bell for a new international legal order.
In May 2024, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan requested that the ICC approve arrest warrants against Netanyahu, then defence minister Gallant and Hamas leaders Yehya Al-Sinwar and Mohamed Deif on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court approved the request in November 2024, by which time both Hamas leaders had been killed by Israel, and rejected the Israeli appeals against them.
Observers fear a possible domino effect caused by Hungary’s stance.
The EU cannot let Orban’s proclamation mark the beginning of a domino effect that will eventually undermine the EU’s foundational values, said Sarrats. If Netanyahu were to travel to Germany or Poland, countries which are reportedly hesitant about upholding their obligations, the EU could face a very public fracturing of its core commitment to justice, she said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 10 April, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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