Results before the Federal Constitutional Court
Last updated: July 2026
In five proceedings the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) ruled in favor of the complainants — with a total of eight decisions documented here, from interim injunctions to rulings on the merits. I pursued the constitutional complaints partly for my own clients and partly as the author of the complaint for colleagues. Extraditions to Russia and Romania were stopped, and the challenged decisions of the Higher Regional Courts (Oberlandesgerichte, OLG) were set aside. The decisions are publicly available; here they are anonymized, each with the official case number as evidence.
Five successful Constitutional Court proceedings
The focus of my constitutional complaints in extradition law: the threat of detention conditions incompatible with human dignity (Article 4 of the EU Charter / Article 3 ECHR) and political persecution — pursued to the last instance, the Federal Constitutional Court.
Extradition of a complainant of Chechen origin to Russia for criminal prosecution. Grounds raised: the threat of political persecution and deficits in effective legal protection.
→ Constitutional complaint successful: the OLG's admissibility decision was set aside (Article 19(4) Basic Law) and the matter referred back.
Extradition for the enforcement of a sentence on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant. Grounds raised: the threat of detention conditions below the minimum standard required by EU fundamental rights (cell size).
→ Constitutional complaint successful: extradition stopped on grounds of Article 4 of the EU Charter / Article 3 ECHR.
The threat of placement in a shared cell with only around 2 m² of personal floor space — a possible violation of human dignity (Article 1(1) Basic Law), linked to the question of a referral to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
→ Constitutional complaint successful: surrender initially stopped by interim injunction; the OLG's decision was then set aside — violation of the right to the lawful judge (Article 101(1) sentence 2 Basic Law) due to the failure to refer the case to the ECJ.
A further extradition for the enforcement of a sentence (European Arrest Warrant). Here too, the detention conditions to be expected in the target state were at the center of attention.
→ Constitutional complaint successful: surrender initially stopped by interim injunction; the OLG's extradition decision was then set aside — violation of Article 4 of the EU Charter (insufficient overall assessment of the detention conditions).
Extradition to Russia for criminal prosecution. The Federal Constitutional Court stopped the surrender by interim injunction; after the OLG had ruled again (Section 33a StPO), Karlsruhe stopped the surrender a second time — in the follow-up proceedings 2 BvR 1661/19.
→ Interim injunction: surrender prohibited. After the OLG had ruled again, the BVerfG set aside that decision as well (decision of 22 Oct 2019 — 2 BvR 1661/19, see above). The proceedings in 2 BvR 894/19 were then discontinued — with full reimbursement of expenses by the State, as with a successful constitutional complaint.
The proceedings presented here are anonymized; the underlying decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court are officially published and can be retrieved under the respective case number. Results in individual proceedings allow no conclusions to be drawn about the outcome of future proceedings — each case is assessed individually. An interim injunction safeguards the proceedings; it is not a final decision on the merits.
Even the last instance is an option
There is no ordinary appeal against the admissibility decision of the Higher Regional Court — but there is the constitutional complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court, often combined with an urgent application that stops the execution. What matters is preparing all objections early and on solid ground. That is exactly what my defense is geared toward.
Learn more: Stopping an Extradition · European Arrest Warrant · Glossary: Constitutional complaint · About
Fend off an extradition — let's talk about it
Call me — the first assessment is free of charge and without obligation.