Extradition Lawyer in Karlsruhe: OLG Karlsruhe and Local Procedure

Which Karlsruhe court and prosecutor handle the case?

Under § 14(1) IRG, local jurisdiction belongs to the OLG and the public prosecutor’s office at that OLG for the district where the person is apprehended for extradition or, if there is no apprehension, first located. This is the rule for assigning the extradition case to the OLG; it does not mean that the first hearing must take place there. For an arrest in Karlsruhe city, ask the police or counsel which Amtsgericht (local court) will conduct the initial hearing and obtain the OLG file reference when available.

Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB) has its official address in Rheinmünster. Rheinmünster is listed within the Amtsgericht Bühl district. Under §§ 21–22 IRG, however, an arrested person must be brought before the judge of the nearest Amtsgericht. Treat Bühl as the local district to check for an FKB arrest, not as a guaranteed venue in every individual case; confirm the actual court and hearing time with the authorities or defence counsel.

What happens in the first 72 hours after an arrest?

This is a practical action plan, not a separate statutory “72-hour rule”. Under §§ 21(1) and 22(1) IRG, a person arrested under an extradition warrant or provisionally arrested must be brought before the judge of the nearest Amtsgericht without delay and no later than the day after the arrest. The judge must question the person promptly after presentation and no later than the following day. These are separate deadlines with separate triggers; they do not run from the time the family learns about the arrest.

Where may the person be detained, and how can family make contact?

Do not assume that everyone arrested in the OLG Karlsruhe district is held at JVA Karlsruhe. Section 27(2) IRG assigns selection of the detention institution to the public prosecutor’s office at the OLG. First confirm the actual facility and whether a court or prosecutor’s visit permission is required.

If the person is held at JVA Karlsruhe, its official visitor information lists weekday visiting hours of 08:00–11:00 and 13:00–16:00. The general allowance is two visits per month, each lasting 30 minutes, subject to the visiting department’s capacity. Appointments are booked only by telephone on weekdays between 07:30–08:00 or 12:15–12:45 at +49 721 9266017. Visitors need an appointment, identification or passport, and any required visit permission. For remand detention, the facility says the original permission issued by the court or public prosecutor must be presented.

The same official page lists separate arrangements for JVA Bühl: visits Monday to Friday from 13:00–14:00, generally two 60-minute visits per month, with telephone booking on weekdays from 09:00–12:00 or 13:15–15:15 at +49 7223 8085950. These are facility-specific rules, not evidence that a particular extradition detainee is held there. Confirm the location before travelling or booking.

Which detention deadlines and review routes matter in Karlsruhe?

An INTERPOL Red Notice or other police alert does not, by itself, automatically authorise extradition detention. Under § 15 IRG, detention after an extradition request may be ordered where there is a risk that the person will evade the proceedings or surrender, or where specific facts support a strong suspicion that the person will impede the ascertainment of truth in the foreign proceedings or the extradition proceedings. Detention under that section must not be ordered if extradition appears impermissible from the outset. Section 16 allows provisional extradition detention before the full request arrives, but only under the statutory conditions.

Under § 16(2) IRG, the extradition arrest warrant must be lifted if the person has been held for a total of two months from apprehension or provisional arrest for extradition purposes and the extradition request and supporting documents have not reached the authority competent to receive them. The period is three months if a non-European state requested provisional extradition detention. These are conditional limits for missing papers, not universal maximum detention periods for every extradition case.

The OLG Karlsruhe decides objections to an extradition arrest warrant or its enforcement under § 23 IRG. Under § 25, it may suspend enforcement if less restrictive measures can adequately secure the proceedings. Section 26 requires the OLG to review continued extradition detention when the relevant two-month period has elapsed; the review repeats every two months unless the court orders a shorter interval. Counsel should support an application with concrete evidence about a stable address, family, work, health, and workable safeguards rather than merely deny a risk of absconding.

The Federal Constitutional Court’s order of 23 January 2025, 2 BvR 5/25 (from OLG Stuttgart proceedings), held that detention decisions require individualised reasoning on the risk of flight, proportionality, and less restrictive alternatives. It is a constitutional authority, not a Karlsruhe-specific precedent or a guarantee of release.

Can an OLG Karlsruhe extradition decision be appealed?

Ordinary appeals against an OLG extradition decision are excluded by § 13(1) IRG. A renewed admissibility decision under § 33 is a different, limited route for relevant new or newly known circumstances; § 42 is a referral mechanism for legal questions, not an individual appeal. A constitutional complaint is separate, subject to a strict deadline, and does not automatically suspend surrender; interim relief must be requested separately. In its 5 August 2026 European Arrest Warrant decision, 2 BvR 364/26, the Federal Constitutional Court did not accept the constitutional complaint insofar as it challenged detention, because it did not sufficiently engage with the OLG’s reasons and a later order continuing detention; separately, it set aside the surrender-admissibility ruling on a prison-conditions ground. These were distinct rulings, not a further factual appeal. For refusal grounds, deadlines and remedies in depth, see the guide to challenging extradition from Germany.

How do you identify the correct legal route?

First check whether the papers identify a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) issued by another EU Member State or a request from outside the EU. Germany is a party to the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, but that Convention does not automatically govern every non-EU request: the requesting state’s participation, applicable protocols, bilateral arrangements and Germany’s declarations or reservations must be checked. Within the EU, the EAW is a distinct surrender procedure; Article 31 of Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA replaces corresponding Convention provisions in relations between Member States. A court ruling that surrender is legally permissible is not itself the separate authorisation or physical handover. An INTERPOL Red Notice or diffusion is a police alert, not a judicial surrender decision. Immigration removal or deportation is a different process; see the separate guide to extradition versus deportation.

For the national sequence of the German procedure, see Extradition from Germany: how the procedure works. The separate European Arrest Warrant guide explains the EU surrender framework. This page focuses on the Karlsruhe institutions, the local first-appearance route, and immediate family steps.

What should the family or foreign lawyer prepare?

• The person’s full name, date of birth, nationality, and a copy of an identity document.
• The arrest notice, warrant or case number, court notice, and papers received from the requesting state.
• A short chronology showing the arrest time and place, the first appearance, the named court, and any deadlines communicated.
• Current address and residence records, work details, and family responsibilities relevant to a detention review.
• Medical records and medication details if health affects detention or participation in a hearing.
• Earlier decisions and correspondence about the same foreign proceedings, with reliable translations where available.
• The confirmed detention facility and any visit permission or appointment instructions.

Hypothetical example: if a traveller is provisionally arrested at Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport after an international police alert, the family should not go straight to the OLG expecting the first hearing there. Confirm the arrest status, ask which nearest Amtsgericht will hear the person under § 22 IRG, and contact defence counsel. Because FKB’s official address is in Rheinmünster, the Amtsgericht Bühl district is the local district to check; the OLG’s 1st Criminal Senate handles the later judicial extradition questions.

The site’s team coordinates cross-border defence with local counsel. For an initial assessment, send the core facts and available documents through the secure request page.