Extradition arrest warrant (Section 17 IRG)

Definition

The extradition arrest warrant is the written arrest warrant of the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht, OLG) by which both provisional extradition detention (Section 16 IRG) and extradition detention (Section 15 IRG) are ordered (Section 17(1) IRG). Once the formal request has arrived, the OLG decides without delay whether the detention is to continue (Section 16(3) IRG); the detention is then continued as extradition detention.

Requirements

For extradition detention (Section 15 IRG), a formal request must be on file; for provisional extradition detention (Section 16 IRG), a request for provisional arrest or strong suspicion of the offense is sufficient. In every case: there must be no obvious bars to extradition; grounds for detention must exist (risk of flight or risk of collusion); and the detention must be proportionate (Article 2(2) of the Basic Law, Article 5 ECHR).

Proportionality

The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) requires a strict proportionality review. As the period of detention grows longer, the requirements for justifying it increase. The Higher Regional Court reviews the continuation of detention ex officio every two months (Section 26 IRG); in addition, the person sought may raise objections against the extradition arrest warrant and its execution at any time (Section 23 IRG).

Legal remedies

Decisions of the Higher Regional Court cannot be appealed under Section 13 IRG. The remaining options are: objections against the extradition arrest warrant or its execution (Section 23 IRG), suspension of detention (Section 25 IRG), prompting an ex officio detention review (Section 26 IRG), and a constitutional complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court combined with an interim injunction.

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