Hungary's parliament votes to remain a member of the International Criminal Court

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's parliament voted on Wednesday to remain a member of the International Criminal Court, reversing a decision by the previous government of Viktor Orbán to withdraw from the global tribunal.

Orbán’s government announced last year that Hungary would quit the ICC, the world’s only permanent global court for war crimes and genocide, shortly after a state visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which went ahead despite an ICC warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes in connection with Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

The ICC and other international organizations criticized Orbán's government for failing to detain Netanyahu. Orbán accused the ICC of becoming a “political court.”

Hungary’s withdrawal has been set to take effect on June 2.

The bill to reverse the decision, which was submitted on Monday by Prime Minister Péter Magyar, states that in order to maintain international peace and protect human rights “it is essential that those who commit the most serious international crimes be held accountable before an international judicial forum.”

It adds: “To this end, it is necessary to maintain Hungary’s participation in the Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

The bill was passed largely along party lines, with 133 lawmakers from Magyar's ruling Tisza party voting to approve, 37 votes against and five abstentions.

The ICC's oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, welcomed Hungary’s return. In a statement on Monday in anticipation of the vote, the organization said it “congratulates the government of Hungary for this important decision.”

Last year, the ICC found that Hungary had failed to comply with its legal obligation to arrest Netanyahu. In July, a panel of judges wrote that the “failure to arrest suspects severely undermines the court’s ability to carry out its mandate.”

Hungary was a founding member of the ICC, and Orbán himself signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, in 1999.

If Hungary had withdrawn, it would have been the third country to leave the ICC after the Philippines and Burundi. It also would have been the only country in the 27-member European Union that is not a signatory to the court.

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Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands.