The Hungarian parliament has approved a bill that enacts the withdrawal process

Hungary's parliament has approved a bill initiating the country's formal withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The move advances Prime Minister Viktor Orban's push to exit what his government has labeled a biased and discredited institution.

The National Assembly passed the legislation on Tuesday with 134 votes in favor, 37 against, and seven abstentions. The vote follows a decision in late April in which lawmakers agreed in principle to leave the ICC.

"Hungary firmly rejects the use of international organizations - in particular criminal courts - as political instruments," read the bill published on parliament's website.

Hungary joined the ICC by signing the Rome Statute in 1999 and ratifying it in 2001. However, according to Orban, the country "has always been half-hearted" in its membership.

Orban announced the plan to quit The Hague-based institution last month during a state visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC previously issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, alongside three Hamas leaders in November, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Orban accused the ICC of losing its impartiality and becoming a "political tribunal," assuring Netanyahu that the court's actions "will have no effect in Hungary." The Israeli prime minister praised Hungary's "bold and principled" stance against the "corrupt" court.

The ICC's jurisdiction is currently recognized by 123 countries. Among the non-signatories are the US, Russia, China, and Israel. The court does not have its own police force and relies on member-states to detain and transfer suspects.

In February, the administration of US President Donald Trump sanctioned the ICC and its top prosecutor, Karim Khan, for going after Netanyahu and Gallant.

Earlier this month, Khan took a leave of absence amid a UN investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

READ MORE: Timing of sexual misconduct allegations against ICC prosecutor suspicious analyst (VIDEO)

In 2023, the court also issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of unlawfully deporting children from former Ukrainian territories. Moscow rejected the charges as "null and void," insisting the children were evacuated from conflict zones for their safety and could be returned to their families upon request.

According to the terms of the Rome Statute, Budapest must notify the UN secretary-general of its intent to withdraw, and the decision would then take effect one year later.

(RT.com)