Hungary “deliberately” ignored repeated reminders from the International Criminal Court about a warrant it had issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and did not arrest the Israeli premier during a visit to the country from April 2 to 6, the Hague-based court stated on Thursday.
The court, which is independent and not affiliated with the United Nations, stated that it was referring the case of Hungary’s decision to the Assembly of States Parties, the court’s “management oversight and legislative body” that consists of representatives of states.
“Hungary failed to provisionally arrest Mr. Netanyahu and has not advanced any valid justification for its breach of statutory obligations,” the court said. It added that states are not entitled “to unilaterally suspend cooperation with the court whenever they consider it to be applicable in relation to a specific request.”
The court issued secret warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant on Nov. 21, 2024, but released a press release about the warrants that day. When it was reported in March that Netanyahu might visit Hungary the following month, the court contacted Hungary on March 21 “with a view to organizing a meeting to verify whether the aforementioned media reports were accurate,” the ICC said.
Hungary did not schedule a meeting nor did it consult with the court “in any other manner,” the ICC said.
The court again contacted Hungary on March 31, when Hungary announced that Netanyahu would visit the following week, but Hungary didn’t respond. On April 3, the court asked Hungary to arrest Netanyahu. “The Hungarian authorities did not respond or request consultations,” it said. That same day, Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, said that the government had issued a bill before the National Assembly to withdraw from the court’s jurisdiction.
The court stated that, should Hungary withdraw, the court’s statute notes that such a withdrawal would only take effect on June 2, 2026. “Until that time, Hungary remains, for all intents and purposes, a state party to the statute with the same rights and obligations as all other states parties.”
Unlike Israel and the United States, Hungary is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which grants the court jurisdiction over a country. Hungary is also a member of the Assembly of State Parties.
The court dismissed Hungary’s claims—which it noted were made only after Netanyahu had left the country—that the Israeli premier had immunity and that domestic Hungarian laws didn’t allow for acting on the warrant.
Washington sanctioned two of the court’s three judges, Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia, for approving the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
The U.S. State Department told JNS that Nicolas Guillou of France, the president judge, wasn’t sanctioned due to an “internal diplomatic decision.”
