The Hungarian parliament approved a law today that will launch a year-long process of the country's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban believes has become "political."
Orban's government announced the move on April 3, shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to Hungary for a state visit, despite an ICC arrest warrant over the war in Gaza.
The Presidency of the Assembly of ICC Member States expressed concern about this move, Reuters reported.
The International Criminal Court was established more than two decades ago to prosecute those accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Orban said last month that the ICC is "no longer an impartial court, a court of the rule of law, but a political court."
Hungary has rejected the idea of arresting the Israeli prime minister and called the warrant for his arrest "presumptuous." Hungary is one of the founding states of the court and ratified the founding document in 2001. However, the law has not been passed.
The bill on withdrawal from that court was adopted today with 134 votes in favor and 37 against.
"Hungary firmly rejects the use of international organizations - especially criminal courts - as instruments of political influence," the bill, submitted by Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semyon, states, according to the parliament's website.
Netanyahu called Hungary's decision to leave the ICC "bold and principled."
A country's withdrawal from the ICC takes effect one year after the Secretary-General of the United Nations receives written notification of the decision.
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