Flashmob by students of the “EU Political System” course in favour of international justice, University of Padua, 2 April 2025

Students enrolled in the course the EU Political System at the University of Padua, held by Prof. Marco Mascia, Jean Monnet European Chair, organised a flashmob this morning at Palazzo Bo with the support of Amnesty International Padua to protest against Hungary and other EU Member States (France, Italy, Poland and Germany) who decided not to execute the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

With this behaviour, Hungary and the European Union make themselves accomplices of war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute, international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

Any trip by Netanyahu to an ICC member state that does not result in his arrest will only encourage Israel to commit further crimes against the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Netanyahu's visit to EU territory shows contempt for international law, undermines the work of the ICC, and is a grave affront to the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, who look to the Court as a hope for justice.

Impunity is the greatest obstacle to justice and reparation for victims and survivors of human rights violations and war crimes and crimes against humanity. Impunity undermines trust in political institutions and the principles of democracy and the rule of law at national and international levels.

The responsibility to investigate and punish crimes is a legal obligation for states. Neither political reason nor reason of state can be invoked to disregard this obligation. No one can be above the law.

Article 27 (Irrelevance of official capacity) of the Rome Statute reads as follows:

"1. This Statute shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on official capacity. In particular, official capacity as a Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representative or a government official shall in no case exempt a person from criminal responsibility under this Statute, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitute a ground for reduction of sentence.

2. Immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person."