Extradition from Germany to Hungary is primarily facilitated through the European Arrest Warrant, a legally binding instrument that significantly streamlines cross-border extradition within the EU. According to official statistics from the German Federal Ministry of Justice, 92 people were extradited to Hungary in 2021, placing Hungary among the top five countries that Germany extradited to most. The most common grounds for extradition requests included theft, fraud, and battery. Not every extradition request is legally justified, however, and there are meaningful grounds on which it can be challenged. The sooner you obtain legal representation, the greater the range of options available to your defense.

At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our extradition lawyers specialize in defending clients against extradition within the European Union and globally. We process every case with the utmost care and pay particular attention to the short deadlines that apply in extradition proceedings. If you or someone close to you is facing an extradition request to Hungary, contact us without delay.

The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) serves as the primary legal instrument enabling extradition from Germany to Hungary. It enables accelerated and simplified extradition within the EU and obliges member states to surrender their own nationals. A fundamental feature of the EAW is the principle of mutual recognition, which allows the court handling an extradition request to presume that the requesting member state upholds the rights outlined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

This presumption can, however, be rebutted where there are indications that a breach of fundamental principles exists. Such a breach may be established, for example, where there is a concrete risk that the individual would be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment in Hungary. This presumption of trust nonetheless makes challenging a European Arrest Warrant particularly demanding and requires experienced legal support from the outset.

In certain cases, extradition under an EAW is permissible even where the conduct in question does not constitute a criminal offense under German law. The offenses listed in the EAW Framework Decision qualify for extradition regardless of local criminal law. These include involvement in a criminal organization, terrorism, human trafficking, corruption, and aiding illegal entry and residence.

The extradition of German nationals to Hungary as an EU member state is subject to specific requirements. Two cumulative conditions must be met:

• The requesting state must guarantee that the person will be transferred back to Germany to serve their sentence upon request, meaning that while the trial and sentencing take place in Hungary, the sentence itself is served in Germany.
• A relevant connection between the offense and Hungary must exist. This is established where the offense was committed wholly or substantially on Hungarian territory or where the result of the offense occurred there, at least in significant part.

Several legal grounds exist on which extradition from Germany to Hungary can be challenged or refused. Our extradition lawyers will assess which of these grounds apply to your case and advise you on the strongest available course of action.

• 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.

Detention conditions in Hungary can also constitute a ground for refusing extradition. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Humane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) visited Hungarian prisons in 2018 and identified a range of serious concerns, including the following:

• 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.

Extradition from Germany to Hungary is a legally complex matter that requires swift and experienced legal intervention. Our extradition lawyers will analyze your case in detail, examine the grounds on which the European Arrest Warrant can be challenged, and represent you effectively at every stage of the proceedings. Where an Interpol Red Notice from Hungary has been issued against you, we will additionally work towards its removal, protecting your freedom of movement and preventing extradition proceedings from advancing. Time is critical in extradition cases. Contact us now for immediate and confidential legal advice.