Extradition from Colombia: How the Procedure Works and What an Extradition Lawyer Does

For a live case, obtain the capture order, any urgent diplomatic note or formal extradition request, and the information identifying the treaty route. The alleged-conduct date and citizenship documents can affect the route; identify the governing Code and treaty before applying a deadline.

Who decides: the Supreme Court or the Government?

Colombia uses a mixed judicial and executive procedure. The Criminal Cassation Chamber checks the formal and legal conditions for extradition under the applicable treaty and Colombian law; it does not conduct the foreign trial or decide guilt. Under article 501 of Law 906 of 2004, a negative concept binds the Government and requires refusal, while a favourable concept leaves the Government free to decide in light of national considerations.

For an ordinary incoming request, the judicial concept is issued by the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (Sala de Casación Penal). Under article 496 of Law 906, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs identifies whether the request proceeds under an applicable convention or international usage, or under the Code's default rules, and serves as the diplomatic channel. The Ministry of Justice and Law checks the file and transmits it to the Court; the Prosecutor General handles extradition-related capture and delivery; the Government makes the final executive decision.

The ordinary framework for an incoming extradition request is Constitution article 35 and Law 906 of 2004, articles 490–511. Articles 512–514 concern Colombia's own requests to foreign States to extradite a person from abroad; they are not the incoming procedure described here. Transitional rules generally direct cases concerning conduct before 1 January 2005 to Law 600 of 2000, articles 508–530 for incoming extradition requests. Confirm the applicable code from the conduct date and the transitional rules; do not transfer procedural deadlines from one code to the other.

Which treaty or statute governs this request?

The Foreign Ministry’s official extradition page lists bilateral and regional instruments, but a listing alone does not establish that a particular instrument governs a request. Under article 496, the Ministry identifies the treaty or default route. Counsel should confirm that both States were bound on the relevant dates, the instrument’s entry into force, any reservations or later protocols, and any treaty-specific provisional-arrest, formalisation or transfer deadline. The applicable treaty cannot be identified from Colombia alone; if it does not resolve a point, check the applicable Code and transition rules.

What happens after an arrest or an INTERPOL Red Notice?

INTERPOL describes a Red Notice as a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, not an international arrest warrant; each country decides what legal effect it gives the notice. Colombian law separately gives a Red Notice effect in Colombian territory: article 484 requires a retained person to be placed immediately at the Prosecutor General's disposal. A notice is not a conviction or the final executive extradition decision, and it must be distinguished from the formal request and later stages.

Under article 509, the Prosecutor General may order capture on receiving a formal request, or earlier on an urgent diplomatic request identifying the person and confirming a foreign conviction, indictment or equivalent. Article 510 gives the person the right to appoint counsel from the start, with counsel appointed ex officio if needed. Preserve the arrest papers and arrange representation immediately. For the separate legal effect of an alert, see what an INTERPOL Red Notice does and does not mean.

What are the stages and statutory time limits?

These are stage deadlines, not a promise that the whole case will finish in a fixed period. A treaty may set a different provisional-arrest or transfer period, so analyse any delay under the rule governing that stage.

What does the Supreme Court examine?

Article 502 of Law 906 lists the ordinary checks: formal validity of the papers, full identification, dual criminality, equivalence of the foreign judicial decision to the Colombian procedural decision required, and compliance with the applicable treaty. Article 495 usually requires an authenticated foreign conviction or indictment (or equivalent), a precise description of the acts with place and date, identifying details and authenticated copies of relevant foreign criminal provisions. Documents must meet the requesting State's formalities and be translated into Spanish where required.

This is not a retrial. In C-460/08, the Constitutional Court explained that the Supreme Court's concept does not determine whether the offence occurred, who committed it, whether the foreign evidence is true or whether the person is guilty. Those merits are normally contested in the requesting State. The Colombian review still tests identity, the required foreign decision, dual criminality, treaty compliance and constitutional limits. The separate Colombia refusal-and-remedies page covers refusal grounds in depth.

Under article 493's domestic default, the conduct must also be a Colombian offence with a statutory minimum custodial penalty of at least four years, and a foreign indictment or equivalent must exist. A binding treaty may set different extraditable-offence rules. The Foreign Ministry's opinion under article 496 identifies whether the treaty or the Code's default provisions govern.

How long can the person be held?

There is no single overall maximum for every contested extradition. Under Law 906 article 511, and the corresponding release provision in Law 600 article 530 for cases governed by that Code, there are two separate release triggers, subject to a different rule in the applicable treaty:

• 60 days, counted from the day after capture: if the requesting State has not formalised the request, the Prosecutor General must order unconditional release.
• 30 days from placement at the requesting State's disposal: if that State has not transferred the person, the Prosecutor General must order unconditional release.

These are different clocks, not a universal 90-day limit: the first concerns formalisation after capture; the second concerns transfer after the person is placed at the requesting State's disposal. The precise computation and the governing code must be checked in the individual file. In C-201/20, the Constitutional Court confirmed that applicable treaty rules may alter these periods and invalidated the 2020 emergency decree that suspended extradition deadlines. Its narrow saving clause preserved the 30-day suspension only for cases in which, on the decree’s date, a final executive resolution had already granted extradition for the purpose of serving a final sentence.

Extradition capture is not the same as ordinary pre-trial detention in a Colombian prosecution. In Auto 401/18, the Constitutional Court held in a specific JEP-related dispute that the Prosecutor General retained authority to order extradition capture and decide challenges to that capture. If detention is unlawful or appears to continue beyond an applicable statutory or treaty trigger, counsel can assess habeas corpus under Constitution article 30. Habeas corpus tests the legality of detention; it does not decide the foreign charge’s merits or replace every other extradition challenge.

Can Colombia extradite its own citizens?

Yes, within constitutional limits. Article 35, as amended by Legislative Act 01 of 1997 and interpreted in C-460/08, permits extradition of Colombians by birth for qualifying conduct abroad that is also criminal under Colombian law; political offences are excluded. The constitutional cutoff is conduct committed before the amendment was promulgated on 17 December 1997. Law 906 article 490 uses that date, while the published text of Law 600 article 508 says 16 December 1997. If Law 600 governs and the alleged conduct is dated 16 December, do not rely on that wording in isolation: the constitutional rule and controlling interpretation must be applied to the actual allegations and transitional provisions. The date and place of each alleged act matter; the date of a foreign indictment alone does not answer the question.

Check citizenship documents early, including whether citizenship is by birth or naturalisation and whether the person has more than one nationality. Dual nationality alone does not automatically defeat extradition. Counsel should compare the Constitution, applicable treaty and allegations; see also the separate dual-citizenship extradition guide.

A special transitional regime may apply only to a person who meets the strict personal, material and temporal requirements for the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, JEP) guarantee of non-extradition. Auto 401/18 is a case-specific jurisdictional ruling: the JEP’s Section of Review could assess the date of conduct for the transitional guarantee, while the Prosecutor General retained authority over capture. Once the JEP’s Section of Review assumes the matter, Auto 401/18 refers to a 120-day period to determine the conduct date and appropriate procedure, except in justified cases requiring cooperation from other institutions. This is a JEP-specific clock, not an overall extradition deadline. This is not a general defence or an automatic suspension of every extradition request; counsel must verify the person’s JEP status, the alleged conduct and its date, and the applicable constitutional framework.

What is simplified extradition, and should a person agree?

Paragraph 1 of article 500 permits a simplified route where the requested person, supported by defence counsel and with Public Ministry participation, renounces the ordinary evidence-request, evidence-taking and submissions stages and asks the Supreme Court to issue its concept directly. If the conditions are met, the concept is due within 20 days. This is a procedural choice, not an admission of guilt; it should not be signed just because it is described as faster.

Before agreeing, counsel should explain the file, the procedural opportunities given up, the applicable treaty and the likely executive next step. Consent to simplified procedure, consent to surrender and waiver of a hearing or the rule of speciality are distinct concepts with distinct consequences. Do not sign a statement that is not understood or cannot be discussed privately with counsel.

What happens after the Court gives its concept?

The file returns to the executive for a resolution granting or refusing extradition. A negative Court concept binds the Government; a favourable one leaves a separate decision to be made. Article 494 requires that the person not be tried for an earlier, different act or subjected to sanctions other than those imposed in the conviction. If the requesting State’s law provides for the death penalty for the extradition offence, delivery is conditional on commutation. Separately, Constitution articles 11, 12 and 34 prohibit the death penalty, forced disappearance, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, exile and confiscation. The Constitutional Court invalidated Legislative Act 01 of 2020 in C-294/21, restoring article 34’s constitutional ban on life imprisonment. These constitutional limits are distinct from the speciality rule and must be assessed alongside the applicable treaty and any assurances sought. Article 504 may allow delivery to be deferred while a Colombian prosecution or sentence is pending. Under article 505, for requests concerning the same act, priority goes to the State where it occurred; for different acts, to the request for the most serious offence; if the offences are equally serious, to the State that submitted first. The Government determines the order where several requests exist.

The executive resolution is a separate administrative act, not an ordinary appealable judgment from the Supreme Court concept. Counsel should promptly identify whether a request for reconsideration, judicial review in the administrative jurisdiction or, exceptionally, a constitutional tutela action is legally available; standing, filing deadlines and any suspensive effect depend on the act and the facts. Do not assume that filing a challenge automatically stops delivery. For refusal grounds and the remedies sequence, see the Colombia remedies page.

What should the family and lawyer collect now?

• The capture record, exact arrest time and place, and any INTERPOL, provisional-arrest or formal-request notice.
• The foreign indictment, conviction or warrant; factual summary; cited criminal provisions; translations, authentication and diplomatic notes.
• Identity and citizenship records, including birth records, passports and naturalisation papers, plus documents relevant to the conduct's date and place.
• Dates of capture, formal request, Supreme Court receipt and placement at the requesting State's disposal.
• Information about any Colombian proceeding or sentence, refugee application or possible JEP status.
• Any assurances sought on speciality, death penalty, torture, disappearance, cruel treatment, life imprisonment or confiscation.

Keep originals and make a dated chronology. If a document is missing, record who holds it and request it through counsel or the competent authority instead of guessing its contents.

Hypothetical example: a request from another country

Hypothetical: A Colombian by birth is arrested in Medellín after an urgent foreign request, with formal papers arriving later. Counsel should confirm the capture basis and date, the conduct date, applicable treaty/code, identity and equivalent foreign decision, and the relevant 60-day or treaty-specific deadline. If the request is formalised, calendar the Supreme Court evidence-request period and distinguish its concept from the Government's later resolution. Any challenge to an approved executive act follows a separate route; it is not an appeal from a Colombian criminal conviction.

Questions people often ask

This is general information, not advice on an individual file. The site's team coordinates cross-border defence with local counsel; to discuss a specific request and the relevant jurisdictions, use the consultation request page.