The extradition of German nationals to Hungary is based on the European Arrest Warrant. According to official extradition statistics from the German Federal Ministry of Justice, 92 people were extradited to Hungary in 2021. This put Hungary in the top 5 countries that Germany extradited to most. Among the most common reasons for requesting extradition to Hungary were theft, fraud, and battery.

At Schlun & Elseven, our extradition law team specializes in defending clients prior to extradition within the European Union as well as globally. Do not hesitate to contact us if you or anyone close to you is faced with an extradition request. We process your case with the utmost care and pay particular consideration to the short deadlines in the extradition procedure.

The European Arrest Warrant enables accelerated and simplified extradition within the European Union and obliges member states to surrender their own nationals. Simplified extradition is characterized by the principle of mutual recognition. The courts dealing with the extradition request can therefore generally trust that the requesting member state, in this case Hungary, will observe the rights of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. A different assessment is justified if there are indications that an “ordre public” violation exists. Such a violation can exist, for example, if there is a concrete risk that a person being persecuted would be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment in the requesting member state.

This fundamental presumption of trust makes defending against a European Arrest Warrant much more difficult and requires the support of experienced lawyers. It should be noted that in some cases extradition is permissible even if the suspect’s actions do not constitute a criminal offense under the law of the requested state. Only the criminal offenses and offenses listed in the framework decision are decisive. These include, for example, involvement in a criminal organization, terrorism, human trafficking, aiding and abetting illegal entry and residence, and corruption.

The extradition of a German national to Hungary or any other member state of the EU requires

• that only the trial and the delivery of the judgment may take place in Hungary and that the person being prosecuted must be transferred back to Germany at his request for the execution of the sentence and
• that there must be a significant connection between the crime and Hungary. This means that the suspected act must have taken place in Hungary, or the outcome of the act must have occurred there, at least to an essential extent.

In the framework decision on the European arrest warrant and in the IRG, many grounds for exclusion are listed, based on which the requested member state can refuse to execute the arrest warrant. This includes the following:

• Amnesty: The offense falls under an amnesty in the executing state and that state was responsible for prosecuting the offense under its own criminal law.
• Double jeopardy, i.e., the arrested person has already been convicted of the same offense – provided that, in the case of a conviction, the sentence has already been served, is being served or can no longer be served under the law of the convicting Member State.
• Minority: The person is a minor, i.e., they have not yet reached the age of criminal responsibility in the executing state.
• The dual criminality requirement: This applies only to offenses that do not fall under the offenses explicitly listed in the Framework Decision.
• Parallel criminal proceedings: The executing state has instituted criminal proceedings against the person for the same offense or the person has already been convicted of the same offense in a third country.
• Statute of limitations: According to the regulations of the executing state, the prosecution is already statute-barred.
• Incapacity: The persecuted person is not criminally responsible according to German Criminal Law.
• Judgment in absentia: The accused did not personally attend his criminal hearing.
• The imprisonment threatened is life imprisonment.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Humane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visited Hungarian prisons in 2018 and assessed their condition. The following was worth emphasizing:

• Violence against persons in police custody and several incidents of racial abuse were reported.
• There were some prisons, in which toilet areas in double cells were not completely separated from the common area.
• Inmates have complained about poor access to toiletries.
• Understaffing of health workers was identified.

The CPT has also criticized the use of „Rage Cells“, which are approximately 3m² in size, are completely blacked out and in need of repair and have sprinkler systems installed on the ceiling to discourage aggressive behavior by inmates there.

Our extradition lawyers have the necessary expertise in examining legally complex cases and have extensive experience dealing with European jurisdiction and international police authorities. Our team is more than ready to represent you comprehensively during this challenging time by expertly analyzing your case in detail and outlining the best avenue to challenge a European Arrest Warrant or Interpol Notice. We know how time sensitive defending against a European Arrest Warrant can be – contact us now for timely advice.