BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian lawmakers voted Wednesday to maintain their country’s membership in the International Criminal Court, overturning the prior administration’s plan to exit the global war crimes tribunal under Viktor Orbán.
Orbán’s administration had announced Hungary’s intention to leave the ICC last year, following a state visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The visit proceeded despite an outstanding ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu for alleged war crimes related to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
International organizations and the ICC had condemned Orbán’s administration for not arresting Netanyahu during his visit. Orbán responded by labeling the ICC a “political court.”
Hungary’s exit from the court was scheduled to become official on June 2.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar introduced the reversal legislation on Monday, arguing that maintaining international peace and defending human rights requires accountability for serious international crimes through “an international judicial forum.”
The legislation further states: “To this end, it is necessary to maintain Hungary’s participation in the Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
The measure passed primarily along party lines, with Magyar’s governing Tisza party providing 133 supporting votes, while 37 lawmakers opposed and five abstained.
The Assembly of States Parties, which oversees the ICC, praised Hungary’s decision to remain. The organization issued a statement Monday ahead of the parliamentary vote, saying it “congratulates the government of Hungary for this important decision.”
The ICC had previously determined that Hungary violated its legal duty to apprehend Netanyahu. In July, judicial panel members stated that the “failure to arrest suspects severely undermines the court’s ability to carry out its mandate.”
Hungary helped establish the ICC, with Orbán personally signing the Rome Statute that created the tribunal in 1999.
Had Hungary proceeded with withdrawal, it would have joined only the Philippines and Burundi as countries that left the ICC. Hungary also would have become the sole European Union member nation not participating in the court.
