Extradition Lawyer in Ghent: Rechtbank van eerste aanleg Oost-Vlaanderen and the Local Procedure

EAW deadlines are short. In a contested case, the person must appear before the investigating judge within 48 hours; the raadkamer must decide within 15 days of arrest; and an appeal must be lodged within 24 hours of service for the person (from the decision date for the prosecutor). The final decision period is 60 days from arrest, with a 30-day extension in specified cases and exceptional reporting if the case remains pending by day 90. If the person consents, the prosecutor must decide within 10 days after consent, subject to judicial control. For conventional-extradition provisional arrest, check the applicable treaty and Article 5 of the 1874 Act's separate 40-day communication rule.

First identify the Ghent procedure: EAW, treaty-based surrender or conventional extradition?

An EAW is the EU judicial surrender instrument. Requests from the United Kingdom under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and from Norway/Iceland under their separate surrender agreement use related but distinct treaty routes; do not automatically classify them as conventional extradition under the 1874 Act. An INTERPOL notice alone does not identify the domestic legal instrument. Ask for the actual warrant or request, issuing authority, requesting state, arrest date and exact place of arrest.

Belgium applies the 2003 Act to EU EAWs and, subject to their terms, to surrender requests under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the EU–Norway/Iceland surrender agreement. Conventional extradition is governed by the 1874 Act plus the applicable treaty. Where the 1957 European Convention on Extradition applies, Article 16(4) allows provisional arrest to end if the formal request and papers are not received within 18 days and sets an absolute 40-day maximum. Article 5 of the 1874 Act separately provides 40 days from arrest to communicate a foreign warrant in conventional-extradition cases. Belgium’s reservation to Article 18(4) concerns release 30 days after a scheduled surrender date, not the initial arrest clock, when extradition or detention legality is challenged. A different applicable treaty may alter the relevant period.

For national procedure and refusal grounds, see the Belgium extradition guide and guide to challenging extradition from Belgium. This page focuses on Ghent’s institutions, local access and the first procedural steps.

Which Ghent court and prosecutor handle the first steps?

The current court name is Rechtbank van eerste aanleg Oost-Vlaanderen, afdeling Gent, the Ghent division of the East Flanders Court of First Instance. Its building is at Opgeëistenlaan 401A, 9000 Gent. East Flanders has three court divisions—Ghent, Dendermonde and Oudenaarde—so the Ghent division is not automatically the correct venue for every arrest in the province. The local prosecution service is Parket Oost-Vlaanderen, which has a separate Ghent division prosecutor.

The court’s official access information says tram 4 from Gent-Sint-Pieters stops directly in front of the building. The underground garage has about 120 spaces and may fill quickly; nearby parking is difficult and expensive. Security screening is comparable to airport screening, so arrive well before the hearing.

What happens in the first 72 hours? A practical action plan

This is a practical checklist, not a separate statutory 72-hour deadline. In an EAW case, the statutory first appearance is within 48 hours. For a conventional extradition arrest, the next step depends on the warrant and treaty.

Venue follows the case, not a relative’s address. In conventional extradition, the chamber of council is tied to where the person resides or is found, while the indictment chamber’s opinion comes from the appeal area of arrest. If arrest occurred outside Ghent, tell counsel the precise location before filing.

How does a conventional extradition request proceed?

For urgent provisional arrest in a conventional-extradition case, Article 5 of the 1874 Act allows the investigating judge with jurisdiction over the person’s residence or place found to issue a warrant based on official notice from the requesting state; the foreign warrant must be communicated within 40 days. Where the 1957 Convention applies, its separate 18/40-day clock concerns provisional arrest only, not the whole case.

Article 3 distinguishes the supporting papers. A foreign arrest warrant or equivalent must be declared enforceable by the chamber of council at the first-instance court for the person’s Belgian residence or place found; a conviction judgment or other Article 3(1) act follows that paragraph’s documentary route. After detention under a listed act and proper service, the federal government seeks a reasoned opinion from the indictment chamber for the area of arrest. The prosecution and person are heard; counsel may assist, and the hearing is public unless the person requests closure. The indictment chamber must return the papers and its opinion to the Minister of Justice within 15 days of receiving the papers. This is a stage deadline, not a whole-case deadline.

The chamber of council’s enforceability decision, indictment-chamber opinion and federal executive decision are separate steps. An extradition order is not an EAW surrender judgment or an immigration-removal decision. Challenges follow different routes; see the Belgium challenge guide.

What changes if the arrest is under a European Arrest Warrant?

Under Article 11 of the 2003 EAW Act, the person must be brought before an investigating judge within 48 hours of actual loss of liberty. The judge explains the EAW, consent to surrender, and the right to a lawyer and interpreter. If no lawyer is chosen, the judge informs the bar president or delegate so counsel can be appointed. The judge decides on detention; conditional release or bail may be considered under the statutory test.

Article 16 requires a reasoned chamber-of-council decision within 15 days of arrest. Notice of the hearing must be given at least 24 hours in advance, and the file is available on the last working day before it. The 2026 Act repealed former Article 16(5), so do not rely on its old release consequence for missing the 15-day deadline; assess detention under the amended law and current order.

Under Article 17, the person must appeal within 24 hours of service; the prosecutor’s clock runs from the decision date. File at the first-instance registry. The indictment chamber must decide within 15 days after the appeal is lodged. The Law of 24 June 2026, effective 2 August, removed cassation review and set 60 days from arrest for the final decision; Article 19 permits a 30-day extension in specified cases, with exceptional reporting by day 90. See the sibling guide for detailed remedies.

Consent to surrender is separate from a waiver of speciality. Under Article 13 it is given before the prosecutor after its effects are explained, with counsel as provided by law; the prosecutor must separately ask whether the person also waives speciality. That rule limits prosecution or punishment for earlier offences beyond the offence covered by surrender. Under Belgium’s notified statement to Framework Decision Article 13(4), consent to surrender may be revoked until actual surrender. If consent is revoked, the period between consent and revocation is excluded when calculating the applicable Framework Decision time limits, so the deadline must be recalculated. Do not assume a separate speciality waiver is automatic. If the person does not consent, Article 14 preserves the right to be heard by the executing judicial authority. See the linked EAW-versus-extradition guide and EAW procedure guide.

Where may the person be held, and how can family access work?

Gevangenis Gent, at Nieuwewandeling 89, has served as a remand prison since 1862 and publishes that it has a closed regime, men’s and women’s sections and a psychiatric wing for men. Not everyone arrested in East Flanders is held there; confirm the current location and any transfer.

Since 1 September 2025, ordinary visits at Gevangenis Gent are not booked in advance by visitors: registration is on arrival in arrival order, and late arrivals miss that session. First-time visitors should arrive at least one hour early. Bring official photo ID; direct relatives should bring proof of relationship. Other visitors need authorisation requested by the detainee from the director, which may take more than one working week. Check current visit hours and approved status before travelling; the prison does not disclose visitor-list information by phone. Visits do not replace confidential contact with counsel.

The official court page lists the first-instance registry hours on working days as 08:30–12:30 and 13:30–16:00. Confirm the current hours and hearing location before travelling; general access information is not a substitute for case-specific advice from counsel. Ask promptly about legal aid if needed; the EAW Act provides for appointment of counsel when none was chosen.

What should the family prepare before contacting counsel?

• Full name, date of birth, nationality and identity-document details.
• Exact arrest date, time, place and police unit, if known.
• All warrants, notices, detention orders, service records and translations.
• Requesting state, alleged offence/sentence and purpose of the request.
• Earlier extradition, asylum/protection decisions and prior rulings on the same facts.
• Urgent medical needs and the person’s language.
• Residence/family evidence relevant to any release request.
• A family contact and concise chronology separating facts from assumptions.

Hypothetical example. After an arrest on a German EAW, counsel checks the arrest time, the 48-hour appearance, the warrant and its translation, then calendars the 15-day decision period and any 24-hour appeal period. For a conventional third-state extradition request based on a foreign arrest warrant or equivalent, counsel checks whether the 18/40-day Convention clock applies and distinguishes the chamber-of-council enforceability decision, the indictment-chamber opinion and the federal decision. If the request is based on a conviction judgment, counsel checks the separate documentary route under Article 3.

Questions for the first consultation

• Which instrument and document authorise detention?
• Which court division and judge are responsible for the exact arrest location?
• When was each decision served, and what deadline runs from service?
• Has the person received the file and interpreter, and is consent recorded?
• What evidence is urgent, and which arguments belong in the separate remedies procedure?

Because the route depends on the instrument, requesting state and documents served, a consultation can help identify the competent Ghent institution and the deadline that actually runs. Bring the warrant or request, the arrest time and place, proof of service and any court notice; you can request a consultation through this page.