Extradition Lawyer in Metz: Cour d'appel de Metz and the Local Procedure

Which Metz authority handles the case?

The relevant court is not simply the Tribunal judiciaire de Metz because the person was arrested in the city. Ordinary extradition and EAW cases are handled at appeal-court level. The Cour d’appel de Metz district covers the Moselle department and its three tribunaux judiciaires: Metz, Thionville and Sarreguemines. For an arrest in Meurthe-et-Moselle, see the Nancy court page.

One statutory exception matters: under Article 696-24-1, extradition requests concerning terrorist acts also fall within the concurrent competence of the procureur général, first president, chambre de l’instruction and its president in Paris. If the request concerns terrorism-related conduct, counsel must check whether the Paris route has been engaged; do not assume Metz is the only possible forum.

Airport arrests. The airport operator lists Metz–Nancy–Lorraine Airport at Route de Vigny, 57420 Goin, in Moselle. That location is a local clue, not proof of which unit made an arrest or which procedure applies. Use the current arrest record to identify the unit, exact time and legal instrument—ordinary extradition, provisional arrest or an EAW—rather than inferring them from the airport name.

What happens during the first 48 hours?

Article 696-10 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure requires a person arrested following an ordinary extradition request to be brought before the territorially competent procureur général within 48 hours. The prosecutor must explain the request in a language the person understands and advise them of the right to a chosen lawyer or, if needed, a lawyer appointed through the bâtonnier (the head of the local bar). The lawyer may speak with the person immediately, consult the file at once and communicate freely. Consent to extradition and waiver of the speciality rule are separate declarations with different legal consequences.

After formal notification of the request, if the prosecutor general does not release the person, Article 696-11 provides for presentation to the first president of the appeal court or a designated judge. That judge orders extradition custody at the remand prison at the seat of the appeal court. If the judge considers the person’s appearance sufficiently guaranteed, judicial control or home detention with electronic monitoring may be used instead until the chamber hearing. That decision may be challenged before the chambre de l’instruction, which must decide within five days. Metz has a local prison facility, but the family must confirm the actual placement. A Red Notice alone does not prove that a formal extradition request has arrived.

Which ordinary-extradition deadline applies after the prosecutor general?

Start with the date and time of the person’s presentation to the procureur général, not the time the family learned of the arrest. The ordinary-extradition deadlines are separate steps:

These are statutory stages, not a promise that the whole case will finish within a month. The treaty, completeness of the papers, a request for additional information and the later executive stage can matter. France is bound by the 1957 European Convention on Extradition subject to its recorded reservations and declarations. Where an EAW or another special surrender instrument applies, do not use the ordinary-extradition timetable. See the France extradition guide.

How is a European Arrest Warrant different?

An EAW is a judicial surrender instrument between participating states, not an ordinary extradition request. France implements it through separate provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, including Article 695-31. The Cour d’appel de Metz chamber generally decides within seven days of appearance if the person consents, and within 20 days of appearance if they do not. Those are chamber-decision periods, not a promise of physical transfer within that time. A supplementary-information order can affect the timetable; if a French privilege or immunity must be lifted, or another state’s consent is required, the clock does not start until the chamber is informed of that event. A consent decision is not appealable; a non-consent decision may be challenged by the specific pourvoi en cassation route.

An INTERPOL Red Notice is an international alert and request for cooperation, not itself an international arrest warrant or the final surrender decision. Ask counsel to identify the actual instrument: ordinary extradition, provisional arrest, an EAW or a request under a separate agreement. The document and procedural dates determine which deadlines apply.

What should the family or foreign lawyer do now?

The Cour d’appel de Metz and Tribunal judiciaire de Metz share the Palais de Justice at 3 rue Haute-Pierre. The district also includes Thionville and Sarreguemines, so an arrest in either town does not by itself move the matter to another appeal-court district. The Moselle access-to-law directory lists lawyer sessions at the Metz trial court on Mondays from 09:00 to 12:00 by prior appointment through the Metz Bar (03 87 76 16 00). It also lists lawyer-permanence contacts at the Centre pénitentiaire de Metz. In Sarreguemines, the court’s lawyer sessions are listed for the first and third Thursdays, 08:30–11:30, except July and August, by appointment at 03 87 95 48 23. In Thionville, sessions are listed for the first and third Fridays, 09:00–12:00 outside school holidays, by appointment through the MJD du Val de Fensch (03 82 51 98 62). These are general access-to-law services, not emergency extradition filing channels.

1. Record the exact arrest time and place, police service, reference number and authority that took the person into custody.
2. Send counsel the arrest record, notice of rights, warrant/request and translations, plus a dated chronology, identity/residence documents and foreign lawyer or court contacts. Keep originals and label translations.
3. Ask counsel to confirm in writing the legal instrument, court/chamber, custody status, actual detention facility and transfers, next hearing and trigger for each deadline.
4. If no lawyer is acting, ask immediately about appointment through the bâtonnier and request an interpreter. Relatives abroad should appoint one contact person.

The first 72 hours: a practical action plan, not a separate legal deadline

The statutory initial limit for ordinary extradition is presentation to the prosecutor general within 48 hours. This three-day checklist is practical guidance, not an additional deadline in the Code:

• Immediately: identify the legal instrument from the arrest papers and secure French counsel and an interpreter if needed.
• Before the first appearance: counsel should check the custody or alternative-measure order and explain the consequences of consent; do not consent without advice.
• After the hearing is set: confirm the next deadline trigger and keep proof of every document sent or received.

What can be challenged, and in which court?

Detailed refusal grounds and national remedy strategy belong on the France extradition remedies page. At Metz, counsel can challenge the Article 696-11 custody or alternative-measure decision (the chambre de l’instruction must decide within five days; that is not a filing deadline) and request release under Article 696-19 at any time (decision within 20 days, or 15 days if requested within 48 hours of placement). Keep later routes distinct: Article 696-15 limits a pourvoi against the chamber’s opinion to qualifying procedural defects; a separate Conseil d’État challenge to the Prime Minister’s decree has a one-month statutory deadline, which a recours gracieux does not interrupt. The Conseil d’État does not re-open procedural defects in the chamber’s opinion; under Article R. 421-5, the one-month statutory period is ordinarily opposable only if the notice states the available remedies and deadline; if it does not, a reasonable-time limit may still apply. An asylum application alone does not automatically block execution. Preserve orders and notifications and get urgent advice on the route and evidence.

A hypothetical example: arrest after a trip through Luxembourg

Suppose a person is arrested in Thionville after travelling from Luxembourg and officers refer to an international alert. The family should obtain the arrest papers, arrange counsel and identify whether the instrument is ordinary extradition or an EAW; the hearing is not automatically at the Tribunal judiciaire de Thionville. For ordinary extradition, presentation to the competent prosecutor general is due within 48 hours, then the person appears before the Metz appeal-court chamber. The five- or ten-working-day first-appearance period runs from that presentation; if consent is given, the chamber’s decision period is a separate seven days from appearance. Send foreign records with their source, date and any certified translation.

Useful official sources

The Lex Agency team coordinates cross-border defence with local counsel. To discuss the next step in a specific case, use the consultation request page.