Hungary stays in ICC

Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Friday, May 23, that Hungary was withdrawing its intention to leave the International Criminal Court, reversing a move announced during Benjamin Netanyahu’s April 2025 visit to Budapest. The step keeps Hungary inside the Rome Statute system before its previously scheduled withdrawal date of June 2, 2026, cited by the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties. The decision matters because ICC arrest warrants issued in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant remain operative in relation to a state party that had openly signaled it would not act on them. Hungary had earlier told the United Nations it would quit the court, prompting formal concern from the ICC’s member-state body. ### What exactly did Hungary reverse? Péter Magyar wrote on X that “the government withdraws Hungary’s intention to leave the International Criminal Court,” according to the Jerusalem Post’s report on May 23. That statement reversed the Hungarian government’s April 2025 decision to begin the withdrawal process while Netanyahu was being hosted in Budapest. (jpost.com) The Assembly of States Parties, which oversees the Rome Statute system, said in a June 5, 2025 statement that Hungary’s withdrawal had been set to take effect on June 2, 2026. Because withdrawal from the treaty takes effect one year after notification, Hungary remained a state party during that period unless it changed course. (jpost.com) ### Why was Hungary leaving in the first place? Viktor Orban announced Hungary’s exit plan on April 3, 2025, as Netanyahu visited the country despite an ICC arrest warrant. Reuters reported at the time that Orban said the court had been reduced to a “political tool,” while Netanyahu praised the move as “bold and principled.” Hungary’s government had signaled before and during that visit that Netanyahu would not face arrest in Budapest. (icc-cpi.int) That stance put Hungary at odds with the court’s expectation that member states cooperate with arrest requests tied to ICC warrants. ### Which warrants stay in play because of this? The ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza war, according to Reuters and other reports cited in the search results. (yahoo.com) Hungary’s decision to remain in the court does not cancel or alter those warrants; it means they continue to exist within the legal framework binding ICC member states, including Hungary. The warrants are separate from Hungary’s political position. A state party’s decision to stay in the Rome Statute system does not by itself compel an immediate arrest, but it leaves the court’s legal requests and obligations formally in place. That is an inference drawn from the ICC treaty process and Hungary’s reversal of its withdrawal notice. (yahoo.com) ### Did Hungary already face consequences over Netanyahu’s visit? The ICC’s Assembly of States Parties published a referral on July 25, 2025, saying the court’s presidency had forwarded a finding by Pre-Trial Chamber I on Hungary’s non-compliance with a request to cooperate in Netanyahu’s provisional arrest. That followed the April 2025 visit, when Hungary received Netanyahu and did not detain him. (icc-cpi.int) That record means Hungary’s reversal on withdrawal comes after the court had already moved to address its conduct through the ICC’s own compliance procedures. The Assembly’s documents do not show the warrants being withdrawn or suspended. ### What happens next inside the ICC system? June 2, 2026 was the date Hungary’s withdrawal had been due to take effect, according to the Assembly of States Parties. (asp.icc-cpi.int) After Magyar’s May 23 announcement, the next concrete step will be whether Hungary formally communicates the reversal through the same treaty and diplomatic channels that handled its original withdrawal notice. The ICC and its Assembly of States Parties maintain the official record of member-state status, and any updated procedural notice would be expected to appear through those bodies. Netanyahu and Gallant’s 2024 warrants, as described in the reporting and ICC-related documents surfaced here, remain part of that backdrop. (jpost.com) (icc-cpi.int)