Hungary stays in ICC, Netanyahu warrant intact

Hungary said on May 23 that it was withdrawing its plan to leave the International Criminal Court, reversing a move launched under former prime minister Viktor Orbán and keeping the court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally in force. Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced the decision in a post on X, saying his government was pulling back Hungary’s intention to quit the court. The move stops a withdrawal process that had been due to take legal effect on June 2, one year after Hungary notified the United Nations secretary-general. Netanyahu’s legal position before the court does not change: the ICC warrant remains outstanding. ### What exactly did Hungary reverse? Péter Magyar said on Friday that “the government withdraws Hungary’s intention to leave the International Criminal Court,” according to reports citing his post on X. That statement reversed the course set in 2025, when Orbán’s government moved to quit the court after Netanyahu visited Budapest. (yahoo.com) June 2, 2026, had been the key date because Article 127 of the Rome Statute gives a withdrawing state one year before its exit takes effect. The American Society of International Law said Hungary’s notification had been filed in June 2025 and that, until the effective date, Hungary remained bound by its ICC obligations. ### Why does Netanyahu’s warrant still matter in Hungary? (yahoo.com) The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to Politico and other reports. The court also issued a warrant for former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, the Jerusalem Post reported. Netanyahu has denied the allegations, and Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction. (asil.org) Hungary’s decision to stay in the court means the warrant remains formally applicable on Hungarian territory. As an ICC member state, Hungary is in principle obliged to cooperate with the court, including by detaining people subject to its warrants, according to Politico and ASIL. ### Didn’t Hungary already refuse to arrest him once? (politico.eu) Hungary did not arrest Netanyahu when he visited Budapest in April 2025. Politico reported that Orbán, then prime minister, had guaranteed Netanyahu immunity and announced Hungary’s withdrawal from the court before the visit. The Jerusalem Post said Hungary had already become the first ICC member country to say publicly that Netanyahu could visit without being arrested. (politico.eu) Netanyahu later praised Orbán’s decision to leave the court, calling it “an important decision for the whole world,” the newspaper reported. ### What has Péter Magyar said about enforcement? April 20, 2026, was the clearest date on this point. (politico.eu) Politico reported that Magyar, then prime minister-elect, said Hungary “must take” Netanyahu into custody if he entered Hungarian territory while wanted by the court. Magyar told reporters that if Hungary remained an ICC member and a person wanted by the court entered its territory, “that person must be taken into custody,” according to Politico and the Jerusalem Post. (jpost.com) He also said his government’s “firm intention” was to stop the withdrawal and keep Hungary inside the ICC. ### So is the legal question settled now? (politico.eu) Hungary’s membership question is clearer than its enforcement record. ASIL said that even during the withdrawal period Hungary remained bound by Rome Statute obligations, while Politico noted that some countries have argued they can stay in the ICC without enforcing every warrant because of competing views about immunities. (politico.eu) France, Germany and Italy were cited by Politico as examples of countries whose leaders or officials had raised doubts about arresting Netanyahu if he traveled there. That means Hungary’s reversal settles whether it remains inside the court, but not how Budapest would act if Netanyahu traveled to Hungary again. ### What comes next? (asil.org) June 2 remains the date that had been set for Hungary’s withdrawal to take effect before Magyar’s reversal. Politico reported in April that Netanyahu was due to visit Hungary later in 2026, and Magyar said he had made Hungary’s ICC position clear to the Israeli prime minister. Any future visit by Netanyahu would test whether Budapest follows the court’s warrant in practice. (politico.eu)