Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the International Criminal Court’s recently announced procedure against Hungary over its refusal to arrest the Israeli prime minister "is the clearest possible demonstration of the fact that the ICC has lost all its prestige".
Minister Szijjártó said this move by the ICC demonstrated that the court’s "decisions are motivated essentially only by petty political revenge".
"Political goals and ideologies have no place in international tribunals," the minister said. "The ICC has just proven all of our concerns over the body’s impartiality and apolitical approach."
"This petty and weak step only vindicates our decision to withdraw from the court," Minister Szijjártó said. "The International Criminal Court has irreversibly strayed from its original purpose and become a political body."
"But we believe international organisations cannot represent political interests; in fact it is these institutions that should provide the proper platform for negotiation between disputing parties," the minister said.
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber on Friday said Hungary had failed to fulfil its obligation under the Rome Statute by not complying with the court's request concerning the warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest.