Extradition Lawyer in Dijon: Cour d’appel de Dijon and the Local Procedure

Which Dijon institutions handle the case?

The working label in the task brief is correct for an ordinary extradition case arising in Dijon: the relevant appellate court is the Cour d’appel de Dijon, and the judicial examination is conducted by its chambre de l’instruction. The parquet général receives the person at the initial stage and transmits the matter to the chamber. The ordinary tribunal judiciaire de Dijon is not a substitute extradition court simply because the arrest happened in the city.

Dijon has two local legal-information points, plus the Bar as a route to defence counsel. The Ministry of Justice lists the Point-justice Maison des avocats at 13 boulevard Georges Clemenceau, 21000 Dijon (03 80 70 40 70), attached to the Cour d’appel de Dijon and Tribunal judiciaire de Dijon. The Côte-d’Or legal-access council (CDAD) also lists a Point-justice at the Maison d’arrêt de Dijon, 72 bis rue d’Auxonne, 21000 Dijon, for detained people; appointments are by telephone only at 03 80 66 47 32. This is an access-to-law service, not a substitute for defence counsel, and the listing does not confirm that a particular person is held there. For a lawyer, ask the Barreau de Dijon for current contact details and whether any duty service covers extradition; do not assume that a police-custody rota automatically covers this procedure. Confirm the case authority and actual custody location before travelling or sending documents.

What happens in the first 48 hours—and what if this is only provisional arrest?

Article 696-10 of the Code de procédure pénale (French Code of Criminal Procedure) requires a person apprehended following a formal extradition request to be brought before the territorially competent procureur général within 48 hours of apprehension. The person must be told, in a language they understand, that the request exists and what it contains, and must be informed of the right to a chosen lawyer or one appointed through the bar. The lawyer may consult the file immediately and communicate freely with the person. An interpreter should be requested where needed; basic French is not a substitute for understanding the legal consequences of a decision. If the person was provisionally arrested while the formal extradition documents were still awaited, do not automatically apply this 48-hour rule: the Cour de cassation held on 4 March 2015, no. 14-88.211, that article 696-10’s deadline does not apply to that provisional-arrest stage where the formal request arrives within the applicable period. If an INTERPOL Red Notice is involved, ask counsel to identify the French legal basis for the arrest and whether the formal extradition papers have arrived; do not calculate deadlines from the alert alone.

French law provides for detention at the remand prison at the seat of the relevant court of appeal if the person is incarcerated. For a case actually handled in Dijon, that points to the Maison d’arrêt de Dijon; it is not proof that every person arrested in the wider appellate district is still held there. Transfers, another detention basis or a different competent district can change the practical answer. The family should first obtain written confirmation of the facility, the case reference and the authority responsible for visit permits.

What is the hearing timetable if the person consents or refuses?

The clock for the chamber hearing runs from the date the person was presented to the prosecutor general, not simply from the date a family member learned about the arrest. Articles 696-13 and 696-15 set different time limits for the two routes under the ordinary extradition procedure.

At the hearing, the chamber verifies identity and records the person’s statements. The hearing is public unless publicity could harm the proceedings, a third party’s interests or the person’s dignity; in that event it can sit in chambers. The prosecutor and the requested person are heard, with a lawyer and, where necessary, an interpreter. If supplementary information is ordered, counsel should track when it returns and preserve the order and the record of the resumed hearing.

Which court decides, and what does an opinion mean?

In ordinary extradition, the chambre de l’instruction issues a reasoned judicial opinion; it does not itself make the final executive surrender decision in every case. If a final adverse opinion rejects the request, article 696-17 says extradition cannot be granted and the person must be released unless detained on another basis. In other cases, article 696-18 provides for a decree by the Prime Minister on the report of the Minister of Justice. The judicial opinion and the later executive decree are separate decisions and must not be treated as one appealable event.

Article 696-18 also contains a separate handover rule: if the person has not been received by the requesting state’s agents within one month after the decree is notified to that state, release must be ordered unless force majeure prevents the handover. This is different from the one-month deadline to challenge the decree before the Conseil d’État, which ordinarily runs from notification of the decree to the person. Counsel must confirm the legally effective service date and preserve proof of both notifications; a request for administrative reconsideration does not suspend the court deadline.

A European arrest warrant (EAW) is a separate surrender procedure from ordinary extradition. French Code of Criminal Procedure provisions beginning at article 695-11 govern that route; if the paperwork says “mandat d’arrêt européen”, counsel should identify the EAW procedure before applying the ordinary-extradition deadlines discussed here. Other international arrangements may govern requests involving states outside the EU, so the requesting state and applicable treaty must be checked in the individual file.

Do not assume that the European Convention on Extradition or a bilateral treaty applies merely because both states are parties to a convention. Counsel should verify the current treaty relationship and each state’s reservations or declarations, then establish when the formal request and required documents reached the French authorities. This can change the provisional-arrest period compared with the domestic 30-day rule. Check the applicable treaty, any reservations and the exact receipt date in the individual file; do not assume a universal deadline.

What can be challenged after the chamber hearing?

The route depends on which decision is challenged. Under article 696-15, a pourvoi en cassation (appeal to the Cour de cassation) against the chamber’s extradition opinion cannot simply re-argue the merits; the statutory ground is limited to formal defects that deprive the opinion of the essential conditions of its legal existence. The ordinary time limit for a pourvoi is ten clear days after the day the decision is pronounced under article 568, subject to statutory exceptions affecting the starting point. Counsel should check the hearing record and file promptly. Separately, the Prime Minister’s decree is challenged before the Conseil d’État (France’s highest administrative court); article 696-18 gives a one-month period for that challenge. Check the notification date and proof immediately: a request asking the administration to reconsider the decree does not stop the court deadline.

Two 2026 Cour de cassation decisions clarify the same-formation rule in extradition proceedings. On 14 April 2026, no. 25-86.772, the Court held that each defence ground must be examined, argued and decided by the same formation. On 27 May 2026, no. 25-84.904, it clarified that a later final opinion may nevertheless be delivered by a different formation if each ground already decided was examined, argued and decided by the same formation. These rulings are relevant to the Dijon chamber, but do not make every change of panel automatically invalidate the process. Preserve the hearing records; counsel should compare which formation heard and decided each ground.

The detailed statutory refusal grounds, arguments about risk in the requesting state, and the full remedy strategy belong on the country page How to Stop Extradition from France. For the end-to-end national process, use Extradition from France. Those pages should be read alongside this local guide rather than repeating their country-wide analysis here.

What should the family or foreign lawyer prepare now?

• The exact date, time and place of arrest, plus any notice, custody record, warrant or document naming the requesting state.
• The person’s passport, identity details, nationalities, current address, residence history and any ongoing French criminal proceedings.
• Every paper received from the prosecutor general or court, including the hearing date, written detention decision, interpreter details and case number.
• For the foreign case: the arrest warrant or judgment, the charge or conviction, the relevant foreign-law provisions and reliable translations already available.
• For a release application or a risk-related argument: dated evidence, not just general assertions. Medical records, family-care responsibilities, residence records and specific documents about the conditions or procedure in the requesting state may matter depending on the legal ground.
• For visits: confirmation of the current detention facility and the competent authority for a visit permit. The French public-service form and notice explain that the authority depends on the person’s procedural status; do not assume the ordinary pre-trial route automatically applies to extradition custody.

The Barreau de Dijon is another route for asking about defence counsel. Confirm current contact details on its official website and ask expressly whether any duty service covers extradition or an EAW; do not assume that a service designed for ordinary police custody covers this separate procedure.

Hypothetical example: if a person is arrested in Dijon on a request from a non-EU state and tells the prosecutor general they do not consent, the family should record the presentation date, seek immediate local counsel and check the 10-working-day appearance limit under article 696-15. If the case then receives supplementary information, counsel should preserve the order, the return date and the record of the resumed hearing. The domestic 30-day period is not a universal detention cap. It concerns provisional arrest before the formal extradition documents arrive; a treaty may set a different deadline, and if the documents arrive within the applicable period the ordinary extradition procedure can continue. Counsel should check the exact treaty, reservations and dates.

Check the date of the law before relying on an article number

This guide describes the law in force on 28 October 2026. Ordinance no. 2025-1091 of 19 November 2025 provides for a rewritten Code de procédure pénale extradition framework to take effect on 1 January 2029; the current articles 696-8 and following are marked for repeal from that date. If the case may continue into 2029, counsel must check the transitional provisions and the law then in force instead of carrying forward today’s article numbers or deadlines.

Lex Agency’s team coordinates cross-border defence with local counsel. To discuss a matter, use the request page.