Hungary stays in ICC membership

Hungary said on Friday it was withdrawing its intention to leave the International Criminal Court, reversing a move announced last year and keeping the court’s arrest warrants applicable on its territory for now. Prime Minister Péter Magyar said the government had pulled back from exiting the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty. The decision means Hungary remains bound by ICC obligations, including cooperation duties tied to existing warrants. Among those warrants are the ICC’s November 2024 arrest orders for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. ### What exactly did Hungary change on May 23? Péter Magyar said on May 23 that “the government withdraws Hungary’s intention to leave the International Criminal Court,” according to a post cited by The Jerusalem Post. Hungary had previously moved toward withdrawal under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The United Nations depositary notice shows Hungary’s withdrawal instrument was received on June 2, 2025, and under Article 127(1) of the Rome Statute it would only have taken effect one year later, on June 2, 2026. ### Why were ICC obligations still in force in Hungary? (jpost.com) June 2, 2026, is the controlling date in the treaty record. Until that date, Hungary remained a state party to the Rome Statute despite its earlier notice of withdrawal, according to the U.N. depositary notification and an ICC Assembly of States Parties statement issued in June 2025. (treaties.un.org) The ICC Assembly of States Parties said last year that Hungary’s withdrawal was “effective as of 2 June 2026,” and its president, Päivi Kaukoranta of Finland, said she hoped the move would not be permanent. ### Which Israeli officials are covered by the warrants? The International Criminal Court said on November 21, 2024, that Pre-Trial Chamber I had issued warrants of arrest for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. (treaties.un.org) In the same decision, the chamber rejected Israeli challenges to the court’s jurisdiction and to the prosecutor’s prior notification steps. (icc-cpi.int) The ICC said the warrants were issued in the Situation in the State of Palestine case after applications submitted by the prosecutor on May 20, 2024. The court’s statement identified Netanyahu and Gallant by name and said the chamber had acted unanimously. ### What does this mean for travel to Hungary? (icc-cpi.int) Hungary’s reversal means the court’s warrants remain formally applicable on Hungarian territory while the country remains an ICC member. The Jerusalem Post reported last month that Magyar had said that if Hungary remained an ICC member and a person wanted by the court entered its territory, “that person must be taken into custody.” (icc-cpi.int) Netanyahu visited Hungary in April 2025 after Orban’s government had said he would not be arrested, according to The Jerusalem Post. That trip took place while Hungary was still legally inside the Rome Statute system because its withdrawal had not yet taken effect. ### How does this fit with Hungary’s earlier position? Viktor Orban said in 2025 that Hungary had become “convinced that this court has become political,” according to The Jerusalem Post’s account of the earlier withdrawal push. (jpost.com) The ICC Assembly of States Parties responded at the time by expressing regret and stressing the backing of 125 member countries. (jpost.com) Päivi Kaukoranta said in June 2025 that the court’s ability to combat impunity depends “to a great extent” on sustained international backing. Her statement came after Hungary’s withdrawal notice but before Friday’s reversal. May 23 is now the operative date for Hungary’s policy reversal, while June 2, 2026, had been the date its exit was due to take effect under the treaty system. (jpost.com) Any future travel by Netanyahu or Gallant to Hungary before that date would have remained under Hungary’s ICC obligations; after Friday’s reversal, Hungary stays inside the court unless it starts a new withdrawal process. (icc-cpi.int)