Hungary breached obligations by failing to arrest Israel’s Netanyahu during April visit: ICC

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday said Hungary failed to fulfil its obligation under the Rome Statute when it failed to comply with the court’s request concerning the warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest.

The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber said in a statement that it will refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties. The ICC issued a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest last November, citing allegations of war crimes in the Gaza war.

Netanyahu paid an official visit to Hungary in April this year, the court noted, adding that the Hungarian authorities had failed to comply with a request the court made on 21 March for their cooperation in the provisional arrest of the Israeli prime minister. The court said it had invited Hungary for several consultations, but “the Hungarian state did not respond or request consultations.”

It said the Hungarian government had argued that the reason why it had not complied with the court’s request was that it had “not adopted the necessary legislation that would allow its law enforcement agencies to do so”. The government had also cited Netanyahu’s “state immunity” under international law, and argued that the arrest warrant against Netanyahu “cannot be regarded as an impartial and objective legal act”, the statement said.