Detention Review in Extradition Proceedings

Legal basis

The detention review in extradition proceedings is governed by Section 26 IRG. The requested person may apply for a detention review before the competent Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht, OLG) at any time. Independently of this, the OLG is obliged to review the continuation of extradition detention of its own motion at regular intervals.

Standard of review

In the detention review, the OLG examines whether the formal requirements of the extradition arrest warrant are still met, whether the grounds for detention (risk of flight, risk of collusion) continue to exist, whether the extradition detention is proportionate — in particular where proceedings have been lengthy — and whether suspension of detention is an option.

Expedition principle

The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) has repeatedly emphasized the expedition principle in extradition matters: the longer the period of detention, the higher the requirements for justifying continued detention. Delays in the extradition proceedings for which the requested person is not responsible can call the proportionality of continued detention into question.

Oral hearing

The requested person has the right to be heard in the detention review proceedings. On request, the hearing may be conducted as an oral hearing. The defense lawyer can bring all arguments relevant to detention — including new findings on bars to extradition — into the detention review.

Time limit after nine months

Under Section 26(1) sentence 2 IRG, where detention has lasted more than nine months, a special review of proportionality is required. In recent decisions, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) has made clear that the requirements for justifying continued detention increase as detention goes on.

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