Extradition Lawyer in Kazan: Supreme Court of Tatarstan and the Local Procedure

This page covers the local route. For nationwide law and refusal grounds, see the Russia extradition guide and guide to challenging extradition from Russia.

Which Kazan court hears a challenge to extradition?

Article 463(1) CPC sends the challenge to the supreme court of the republic or equivalent court where the person is located. In Kazan, that is the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan, at 72/2 Pushkin Street, Kazan, 420015. Its public reception is on floor 1, room 122; published hours are Monday–Thursday 08:30–16:00 and Friday 08:30–15:00, with lunch 12:00–12:45. These are reception hours, not an extension of a filing deadline.

The court’s public reception is for questions about the organisation of the court and district courts. The official guidance says appeals against judicial acts and procedural actions of judges cannot be dealt with at a personal reception, and personal appointments are by prior arrangement. Do not assume a visit or an ordinary email files an Article 463 complaint. Ask counsel to verify the current procedural filing channel and keep proof of receipt.

The Supreme Court of Tatarstan reviews the lawfulness and justification of the extradition decision; it does not decide guilt abroad. A district court may separately decide detention or its extension. If no final extradition decision has been served, the Article 463 period may not have started, although detention deadlines can already be running.

What should happen in the first 72 hours? A practical plan, not a statutory deadline

There is no Kazan-only rule requiring a first hearing within 72 hours in every extradition case. The timetable depends on whether authorities rely on a provisional-arrest request, a foreign court's detention order, a formal extradition request, or a Russian extradition decision. Treat the first 72 hours as a practical plan, not a statutory deadline.

Who decides detention while the extradition request is checked?

Detention and extradition review are separate tracks. Under Article 466 CPC and the current text of Plenum Resolution No. 11, if a formal request arrives without a foreign court detention order, custody may be ordered or extended only by a Russian court on a prosecutor's application under Article 108. If a foreign detention order is attached, Article 466(2) also permits the prosecutor to place the person under house arrest or in custody without Russian confirmation of the foreign order. For custody, paragraph 21 of the Plenum Resolution limits the prosecutor's initial order to two months from arrest; any extension requires a Russian court, and the overall period remains subject to Article 109 CPC.

Before the formal request arrives, the provisional-detention period depends on the applicable treaty. Current Plenum guidance gives examples of up to 40 days under the 2002 CIS convention, one month under the 1993 CIS convention, or up to 40 days under its 1997 Protocol. A bilateral treaty may differ. Identify the requesting state, governing treaty, arrest date and request-receipt date rather than assuming a universal limit. If the properly documented request does not arrive within the period set by the applicable treaty, the person must be released from that provisional detention.

For a detained person, Article 463(2) requires the facility administration to forward a complaint addressed to the court immediately and notify the prosecutor. But a challenge to a prosecutor's custody order, a court's detention order, and the final extradition decision are different proceedings with different routes. Identify the exact decision before choosing the filing and deadline.

Which deadlines apply at the Supreme Court of Tatarstan?

Article 462(6) gives 10 days from receipt of notice to challenge the extradition decision. If the decision is challenged, extradition must not be carried out until the court decision enters into legal force. Do not treat the expiry of that 10-day period as resolving separate detention or asylum/refugee issues.

Do not confuse the 10-day challenge period with the generally 15-day appeal period. A phone call, information request or asylum application does not itself file or suspend an Article 463 complaint. If time may have expired, ask counsel at once about restoration and proof of the notification date.

What local precedent tells a Kazan defence team

A published case directly linked to Kazan is Supreme Court of Russia case No. 11-АПУ14-50. On 24 September 2014, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan rejected an extradition challenge by a citizen of Uzbekistan; on 18 November 2014, the Russian Supreme Court's Criminal Division set the ruling aside for fresh consideration because the lower court had not adequately examined a pending judicial challenge to refusal of refugee status. This is local case history, not a promise of the same outcome in another case.

The chronology matters. In the 2014 case, the refugee application had been made before the extradition decision and a court challenge to the refusal was still pending. Counsel should provide the dates and copies of the original application, refusal, administrative appeal and court challenge, and ask the court to determine whether the procedure was complete and what consequence it has for review. Do not automatically apply the rule for an asylum or refugee application made only after the extradition decision. Under current Plenum guidance, an application made after the extradition decision should not by itself postpone the Article 463 hearing, but actual transfer must wait until the relevant application is resolved or the appeal procedure following a refusal is complete. The hearing and the physical handover are distinct questions.

For refusal grounds—such as risk of torture, persecution, limitation periods or a treaty bar—see the Russia remedies guide. Use individual, current evidence: medical records, threats, witness statements, official country material and translated court documents. General statements about conditions abroad are not a substitute for explaining the risk to this person.

Which treaty and language questions need checking?

An EU European Arrest Warrant does not govern surrender to or from Russia. The Council of Europe's Treaty Office lists Russia as a party to the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, in force for Russia since 9 March 2000, with Russian reservations and declarations. Counsel must still check whether the requesting state is a party and whether a bilateral or CIS treaty changes the analysis.

Under Article 18 CPC, criminal proceedings may be conducted in Russian and in the state languages of the republics of the Russian Federation; courts of appeal of general jurisdiction conduct criminal proceedings in Russian. A participant who does not understand the language used has the right to use a language they know and to an interpreter free of charge. Documents that must be served under the CPC must be translated into the person’s native language or another language they understand. Separately, when the European Convention on Extradition applies, Russia’s declaration under Article 23 requires authenticated Russian translations of extradition documents sent to Russia. Request an interpreter and necessary translations early and ask that the request be recorded.

Do not assume an application to the European Court of Human Rights or an interim measure under Rule 39 is available for a new extradition or detention event in Russia. Russia ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights on 16 September 2022; the Court’s residual jurisdiction concerns acts or omissions occurring up to that date. This is separate from the European Convention on Extradition, to which Russia remains listed as a party. Remedies for a post-cutoff event must be assessed under the applicable domestic and other international rules, not by promising a Strasbourg route.

What should the family and foreign lawyer prepare?

• Chronology of arrest, detention hearings, notice of the extradition decision, and appeal/asylum deadlines.
• Every served document, foreign warrant or judgment, translation, and proof of receipt dates.
• Identity and citizenship evidence. Article 61(1) of the Russian Constitution prohibits extradition of a Russian citizen.
• Individual evidence of risk or legal bars: medical records, threats, persecution evidence and official country material.
• Confirmation of the actual detention facility; do not infer it from the place of arrest.
• Ask: Has the Prosecutor General signed a decision? When was notice received? Has the court received the complaint? Is a separate detention challenge needed? Which treaty applies?

Hypothetical example. A Georgian national is detained in Kazan and officials initially mention only a foreign warrant. Counsel should first obtain the Russian detention order, check whether a formal extradition decision exists, identify the treaty-specific provisional-arrest limit and challenge detention through the correct route. If the Prosecutor General later serves an extradition decision, the 10-day Article 463 period runs from receipt of that notice.

What is the safest next step?

Because the filing period can be short, promptly consult a lawyer qualified to act in Russia and provide the extradition notice and proof of its receipt date. You may request a case review; no outcome can be promised.