HUNGARY SAYS IT IS WITHDRAWING FROM ICC – As Israeli prime minister Netanyahu visits
Hungary’s government has decided to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, Prime Minister Viktor
Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas told state news agency MTI on Thursday (April 3).
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government announced the move shortly after Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, sought under an ICC arrest warrant, arrived in Hungary for a state visit.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s four-day visit to Hungary is in defiance of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
Israel has rejected the accusations, which it says are politically motivated and fueled by antisemitism.
The ICC’s founding Rome statute oblige all 124 ICC signatory states to arrest and hand over any individual subject to an ICC arrest warrant if they set foot on their territory.
But it’s difficult to enforce and relies on the cooperation of state parties. The issuance of an ICC arrest warrant doesn’t curbs an individual’s freedom to travel.
However, once an arrest warrant has been issued, they risk arrest if they travel to an ICC signatory state, which may influence their decision-making.
