The Hungarian parliament today supported a bill on launching Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. The bill to withdraw from the ICC passed on Tuesday with 134 members voting in favour and 37 against. “With this decision, we refuse to be part of a politicized institution that has lost its impartiality and credibility,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
BUDAPEST MAY 20: The Hungarian parliament today supported a bill on launching Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC). This decision initiates a year-long withdrawal process from the International Criminal Court, which Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government said has become “political”.
The bill to withdraw from the ICC passed on Tuesday with 134 members voting in favour and 37 against.
The International Criminal Court was set up more than two decades ago to prosecute those accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Orban last month said the ICC was “no longer an impartial court, a rule-of-law court, but rather a political court.” Hungary has rejected the idea of arresting the Israeli prime minister and has called the warrant “brazen”.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will soon be notified of the decision. The withdrawal will be formalized one year after the secretary-general receives the written notification.
“With this decision, we refuse to be part of a politicized institution that has lost its impartiality and credibility,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, as if Hungary were a beacon for democracy and human rights.
Image: European People’s Party
