Extradition law

Extradition usually involves the transfer of an accused person wanted on the basis of a national arrest warrant to another country on the basis of a request for mutual legal assistance. Once the accused is in another country, extradition takes place by means of a so-called European Arrest Warrant (EAW) or so-called International Arrest Warrant (red notice), based on a national arrest warrant.

Firstly, extradition law covers cases in which an accused person is transferred from Germany to another country on the basis of a so-called request for mutual legal assistance from another state.

Secondly, it concerns cases in which a person accused abroad is extradited to Germany on the basis of a German request for legal assistance.

Extradition is carried out either to secure the conduct of criminal proceedings or to secure the execution of a sentence which has already been passed.

Law on application of criminal law

The law on application of criminal law deals with the question of the applicability of national criminal law to foreign matters.

In principle, German criminal law only applies to the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. In exceptional cases, however, it can also apply to foreign offenses that have a domestic connection. It is therefore indeed possible for a German court to convict a defendant for an offense that was committed abroad.

Ne bis in idem for foreign matters

As a general rule, each defendant may only be sentenced once for an offense. This is known as the ne bis in idem principle. In such case constellations, it is sometimes difficult, even in national cases, to determine the scope of the “offense” and its individual components. This is necessary in order to rule out the possibility of a second prosecution for the same offense. The situation can become particularly complicated if an accused person is prosecuted in several countries for the same offense. The different wording and different interpretations of legal provisions are sometimes enough to make such matters a particular challenge for untrained criminal defense lawyers.

International criminal law

International criminal law deals with crimes that are directly sanctioned under international law. National criminal law often proves to be inadequate in such cases. This is compounded by the fact that a state itself will generally never convict the perpetrators of crimes it has initiated. It is necessary for the international community of states to take action. It can therefore be said that the main feature of international criminal law is the impact of the crime, which goes beyond a single state. There are also cases of crimes committed by states against minorities in their own country. This requires prosecution by the international community of states.

International criminal law comprises genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.

Today’s most important institution for the prosecution of international crimes is the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Engage a specialized lawyer in international criminal law from Munich. I defend clients in matters involving international criminal law, and I also represent joint plaintiffs in asserting their rights in criminal proceedings. My cross-border network of criminal defense lawyers is useful to me in cases involving cross-border prosecution. Please contact me here.