Hungaryʼs parliament revokes countryʼs withdrawal from International Criminal Court

The National Assembly of Hungary has supported a bill that reverses the countryʼs withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Hungarian media outlet Telex reports on the parliamentʼs decision.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar, on behalf of the government, submitted the bill to parliament the day before, on May 26. He justified the proposal by saying that in order to maintain international peace, security and the protection of human rights, it is absolutely necessary to bring those responsible for the most serious international crimes to justice. And for this, it is necessary to maintain Hungaryʼs participation in the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Hungary’s withdrawal from ICC was reported by then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on April 3, 2025. That day, despite an arrest warrant, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Hungary for an official visit. The following month, the Hungarian parliament voted to withdraw from the court, and the process began.

The process was supposed to be completed in June, but new Prime Minister Péter Magyar has previously said that his government’s goal is to stay in ICC. Although he himself invited Netanyahu to visit Hungary after winning the election, Magyar said he had spoken to many world leaders and invited all of them to come [October 23] for the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising.

Magyar believes that every leader of a country knows the rules regarding ICC warrants. He said he made it clear to Netanyahu that he would not abandon the idea of reversing Hungary’s withdrawal from the court.

• ICC has issued arrest warrants for six senior Russian officials for crimes in the war against Ukraine: Putin and the Commissioner for Childrenʼs Rights Maria Lvova-Belova — on charges of deporting Ukrainian children; Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Commander of the Russian Air Force Sergei Kobylash, and former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Viktor Sokolov — for attacks on Ukraineʼs energy infrastructure, which are classified as war crimes.

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