Orbanannounced Hungary's withdrawallast year, decrying the tribunal as a "political court". It came during a state visit by Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, a close Orban ally and the subject of an ICC arrest warrant over Israel's war in Gaza.
Prime MinisterPeter Magyar, who won alandslide electoral victoryin April, vowed he would reverse the exit process before it took effect on 2 June.
After fast-tracking a bill to repeal the legislation takingHungaryout of the ICC, he secured parliament's approval on Wednesday, with MPs voting by 133 to 37 to stay a member of the court.
Magyar has already indicated that Hungary remains committed to executing ICC warrants including against Netanyahu, who has already accepted an invitation to visit Hungary later this year.
France points to Netanyahu immunity from ICC war crimes warrant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, at Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary, during a state visit on 3 April 2025.
Victory for 'international legal order'
The ICChailedan "important decision". The step is "essential to our shared objective of ensuring accountability for the gravest crimes, strengthening the international legal order, and supporting multilateral institutions", the court's legislative body said after Magyar's government announced last week it would cancel the withdrawal.
It is now up to President Tamas Sulyok, an Orban appointee, to sign the legislation into law.
The ICC issued anarrest warrantfor Netanyahu in 2024 over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimesin Israel's war against Hamas inGaza.
The move prompted the Israeli government to accuse the court of antisemitism and political interference, while its close ally theUnited Statesissuedsanctionsagainst top ICC judges and prosecutors.
Divisions emerge as ICC targets Netanyahu and Hamas over war crimes
Leaving the ICC would have made Hungary one of the founding members of the ICC treaty the only country in theEuropean Unionnot to recognise the court's jurisdiction.
To date, only Burundi and the Philippines have withdrawn from the ICC.
Set up in 2002 and backed by 125 member states, the Hague-based tribunal seeks to prosecute individuals responsible for the world's gravest crimes when countries are unwilling or unable to do so themselves.
Since it was founded, the ICC has opened more than 30 cases for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and offences against the administration of justice.
But it has been struggling against a lack of recognition and enforcement power.
Israel, the US, China and Russia are among countries that do not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC, hampering its ability to investigate their nationals.
Netanyahu is due to visit Hungary for the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising in October.
"I believe that if the country is a member of theInternational Criminal Court, and a person who is wanted by the court enters our territory, then that person must be taken into custody," Magyar told reporters in April.
(with newswires)
Originally published on RFI
