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On 2 April, Hungary welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahdespite the international arrest warrant against him for international crimes, and has announced its intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute. According to Hungary, Israel is a political ally and could not arrest its prime minister, as the Rome Statute has not been transposed into Hungarian domestic law.
However, every State Party to the ICC is under an obligation to cooperate with the Court and to arrest any individual subject to an arrest warrant who enters its territory. States Parties to the Rome Statute are not entitled to refuse a request for arrest and surrender on ideological, political, or economic grounds, nor on the basis that the individual concerned enjoys immunity due to their status as a Head of State. In the event of non-cooperation, the Court may take note of the situation and refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties or to the United Nations Security Council, when the latter has referred the case.
Moreover, Hungary’s announcement of its withdrawal from the ICC does not exempt it from its legal obligation to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu. Withdrawal must be made through written notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and takes effect no sooner than one year after the date on which the notification is received. Withdrawal does not discharge the State from obligations that accrued while it was still a Party to the Statute.
Since then, some leaders from ICC member states, such as France, Germany, Italy, la Belgium and Polandhave stated or implied that they will not arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits their respective countries. Hungary's manoeuvres must not undermine the primacy of the rule of law over realpolitiknor allow power dynamics to dictate the international legal order. In response, 58 non-governmental organizations are calling on the European Union to defend the ICC. The EU should, without delay, invoke the Blocking Statute to counter US sanctions.