Hungarian MPs vote to remain member of ICC, overturning decision made by Orban

Hungary’s lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to keep the country in the International Criminal Court, reversing a withdrawal decision made under Viktor Orban. The vote occurred days before Hungary was set to become the only EU member state not to recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction. Orban had announced plans to withdraw in April, criticizing the ICC as a political court. After Peter Magyar’s election, his government submitted a fast-tracked bill to reverse the withdrawal, which passed with 133 of 199 lawmakers voting in favor. The legislation now requires the president’s signature. The ICC welcomed the reversal as necessary for accountability for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, amid broader pressures on the court from the United States.

"Lawmakers in Hungary have voted overwhelmingly for the country to remain a member of the international criminal court, reversing a decision made by the previous government of Viktor Orban. Wednesday's vote came days before the country was poised to become the only EU member state not to recognise the jurisdiction of the global tribunal, which aims to prosecute those accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity."

"In April last year, Orban announced that Hungary would begin the process of pulling out of what he decried as a political court. He made the comments while hosting his Israeli counterpart and longtime ally, Benjamin Netanyahu the subject of an ICC arrest warrant in Budapest. After he was elected in a landslide victory last month, the country's new leader, Peter Magyar, repeatedly vowed that his government would reverse the withdrawal before it took effect on 2 June."

"On Monday, his government submitted a bill to the parliament, setting in motion a fast-tracked procedure that resulted in 133 of 199 lawmakers voting to back the bill. The legislation must now be signed into law by the president, Tamas Sulyok, an Orban-era appointee whom Magyar has repeatedly called on to resign. Earlier this week, the ICC's legislative body hailed Hungary's plan to reverse the withdrawal, describing it as essential to ensuring accountability for the world's gravest crimes."

"Since Donald Trump's return to power last year, his administration has worked steadily to hobble the Hague-based court, imposing sanctions on 11 of the court's officials. Several of the judges and the chief prosecutor have been left grappling with the fallout, from cancelled credit cards to disappearing Amazon and Google accounts, in what one judge described as a direct and flagrant attack on one of the world's most prominent courts."

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