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Hungary does not wish to participate in the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has been reduced to a political tool and lost its prestige, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday in Budapest. Speaking at the general debate in the National Assembly, the Minister presented a bill on withdrawing from the ICC, and recalled that Hungary had been an active participant in the preparatory work leading up to the establishment of the institution in 2002.
He reported that based on a government decision, Hungary signed the Rome Statute in early 1999, which was then ratified by the National Assembly in 2001. However, despite this, it is still not part of the Hungarian legal system, as it has never been promulgated. He pointed out that despite this, the decision to withdraw must still be made by parliament, after which he himself would send written notification to the UN Secretary-General, and the withdrawal would take effect one year later.
Péter Szijjártó explained that Hungary generally opposes the politicization of international organizations, of which there have been numerous examples in recent times, in this era of danger.
It is clear that when there is a conflict in the world, a conflict between nations or countries, everyone tries to politicize international organizations so that they can then use them for their own political purposes,”
he said.
Hungary is out. Today the Parliament voted to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. We won’t be part of a politicised institution. pic.twitter.com/mZTlJyi9oj
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) April 29, 2025
“We have always rejected this. International organizations are never created for political purposes or political interests, or for particular political interests, but to provide the appropriate international forum, platform, and opportunity for discussion and negotiation in a given field, even for parties in dispute,” he added.
The Foreign Minister also stressed that politics and geopolitical considerations have no place in international legal organizations and international judicial bodies, yet serious concerns have recently been raised about the impartiality and political independence of the ICC. He believed that these concerns had now been confirmed and that it had become clear that the International Criminal Court had been reduced to a political tool.
Not only has the organization been reduced to a political tool, but it has also lost its prestige, respect, and now even its credibility,”
he said, criticizing the fact that at the end of last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and former defense minister. “Then, when the International Criminal Court realized that they had gone too far, they tried to compensate and counterbalance this, but here too, a mistake crept into the machinery, as they issued an international arrest warrant against a Hamas leader who is dead,” Szijjártó pointed out.
“And Hungary does not wish to participate in the work of a politicized judicial body. Hungary does not wish to be part of the politically motivated actions of the International Criminal Court in the future. I therefore ask the honorable National Assembly to accept our bill and decide that Hungary will withdraw from the International Criminal Court and terminate the Rome Statute it previously signed,” he concluded.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Bodnár Boglárka