Extradition Lawyer in Naples: Corte d'appello di Napoli and the Local Procedure

Is the Corte d'appello di Napoli the competent court?

The official court directory lists seven judicial areas in the Naples Court of Appeal district: Avellino, Benevento, Napoli, Napoli Nord, Nola, Santa Maria Capua Vetere and Torre Annunziata. For ordinary extradition, CPP Article 701 sets an order of jurisdictional criteria: first, the district of the person's residence, abode or domicile when the request reaches the Minister of Justice; alternatively, the Court of Appeal that ordered provisional arrest under Article 715 or whose president validated a police arrest under Article 716. If none of these criteria determines jurisdiction, the Court of Appeal of Rome is competent.

For an EAW, Article 5 of Law No. 69/2005 generally looks to residence, abode or domicile when the warrant reaches the judicial authority. If police arrest the person under Article 11 of that law, the competent court is the Court of Appeal for the district where the arrest occurred. Therefore, an Article 11 EAW arrest at Naples-Capodichino points to the Naples district. Do not assume, however, that every arrest in Naples fixes jurisdiction: identify the procedure and the legal event that came first.

Which local office handles extradition and EAW matters?

Check the assigned section and filing method before sending documents. Confirm current arrangements before travelling; registry availability does not suspend a procedural deadline.

Which procedure applies: ordinary extradition or an EAW?

Ordinary extradition is generally used for requests from states outside the EU, subject to Italian Code of Criminal Procedure (CPP) Articles 696–719 and the applicable treaty or other international instrument. The national procedure and treaty rules are explained in the Extradition from Italy guide. The EAW is a separate EU surrender mechanism under Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA and Italian Law No. 69/2005, as amended by Legislative Decree No. 10/2021. A Red Notice alone is not an international arrest warrant and does not itself order surrender; national authorities decide what action their law permits. For refusal grounds and remedies, see How to Stop Extradition from Italy; the EAW process is covered in the European Arrest Warrant guide.

The Naples Prosecutor General's published ordinary-extradition guidance states that the requisitoria is filed within 30 days of receipt of the request and the Court of Appeal decides within six months after the requisitoria is filed. These are different triggers; verify the dates in the official record.

What happens after a provisional ordinary-extradition arrest?

This is a practical first-hours plan, not a separate statutory “72-hour deadline”. Each period has its own trigger.

These are sequential limits, not one 96-hour window: police must hand the person over within 48 hours from arrest, and the president’s separate 48-hour validation period begins when the person is placed at the president’s disposal. The validation deadline may therefore expire before 96 hours have elapsed from arrest. Ten days runs from validation; five days runs from execution of the measure or validation. Use the official record to calculate each period.

What changes when the arrest is under an EAW?

For an EAW procedure started on the basis of a Schengen Information System alert, the Naples Prosecutor General's published guidance says that police notify the Ministry of Justice and transmit the arrest record to the Court of Appeal within 24 hours. Within 48 hours after receiving the record, the court president sets the validation hearing. Within 20 days from validation, the Court of Appeal sets the hearing to decide on surrender. The 20-day period is for setting the hearing, not a promise that the final decision will be issued by then.

If the person does not consent, the Court of Appeal decides by judgment under Article 17 of Law No. 69/2005. A cassation appeal against that judgment must be filed within five days from legal knowledge of the judgment; the grounds are limited to CPP Article 606(1)(a)–(c), and the Court of Cassation decides within ten days after receiving the file. If the person validly consents, the Court of Appeal decides by order under Article 14. A cassation appeal against that order has a different deadline: three days from legal knowledge of the order, on the same limited grounds, and the Court of Cassation decides within seven days of receiving the file. In both routes, the appeal suspends execution. The appeal is filed with the Court of Appeal that issued the decision, which must transmit the file by the next day. Counsel must identify whether the document is a judgment or an order before calculating time.

Where can counsel check the file and local access rules?

The Ruolo Generale Penale at Torre C, floor 13, helps identify the criminal section assigned to a file. The contacts directory lists the EAW-specific PEC mandatoarrestoeuropeo.ca.napoli@giustiziacert.it and places the Ufficio Unico Trasmissione Atti in Cassazione at Torre A, floor 1; the criminal-services page still lists the cassation office at Torre C, floor 1. The directory lists depositattipenali.ca.napoli@giustiziacert.it for cassation filings. Confirm the physical counter and the filing channel for the specific document with the court switchboard (081 2237111) before travelling; contacting an office does not suspend a deadline. Retain proof of submission.

Where can family confirm custody, and what should they prepare?

Do not infer the place of detention from the airport or the court district. Ask the arresting authority or counsel to confirm the institution where the person is actually held and check its current visit-authorisation rules before travelling. A registry location is not proof of a person's custody location.

The Ministry of Justice’s prison directory lists Casa circondariale “Giuseppe Salvia” at Napoli-Poggioreale, via Nuova Poggioreale 177, 80143 Napoli. This confirms a local facility, not the custody location of any particular person; confirm actual custody with the arresting authority or counsel before travelling or requesting a visit.

• Full name, date of birth, nationality, passport details and spelling variants.
• Exact arrest date, time and location, including whether it was at Naples-Capodichino Airport.
• All documents shown by police: arrest record, court order, EAW, SIS alert, Red Notice reference and any translations.
• Requesting state, alleged offence, whether the request concerns prosecution or sentence enforcement, and the foreign case number.
• Medical records, urgent medication needs, interpreter requirements, family contacts and evidence of residence, abode or domicile.
• If risk in the requesting state is alleged, specific and current material about likely detention conditions, health needs or trial risks—not only general internet reports.

Hypothetical example: if a traveller is arrested at Capodichino under an EAW linked to a Schengen alert, the family should give counsel the arrest time and the notice shown by police so the 24-hour and 48-hour steps can be calculated. For a non-EU request, counsel must instead check the ordinary-extradition request, the provisional-arrest record and the criteria in CPP Article 701.

How should detention limits and appeals be checked?

CPP Article 714(4) provides that ordinary-extradition coercive measures are revoked if one year passes from the start of their execution without a favourable Court of Appeal judgment, or if cassation proceedings against a favourable judgment have not ended within one year and six months measured from the start of execution of the coercive measure. On the Prosecutor General's request, the periods may be extended, including more than once, by no more than three months in total where particularly complex investigations are necessary. Under Article 714(4-bis), the measure is also revoked if delivery has not occurred within three months after the Minister of Justice's favourable extradition decision. The three-month clock is suspended only if the competent administrative court suspends the effectiveness of the Minister’s decision; filing a challenge alone does not stop it. The clock resumes when the relevant order or decision specified by Article 714(4-bis) is filed: an order revoking the interim measure, an order allowing a challenge to that measure, a judgment dismissing the challenge, or a decision declaring the proceedings extinguished. The suspension cannot exceed six months.

CPP Article 706 permits a cassation appeal against the ordinary-extradition judgment, including on the merits; the Court of Cassation must decide within six months after the case file is received by that court. Article 706 does not set one universal filing period, so counsel must calculate the applicable ordinary procedural deadline from the relevant notification or filing event. This differs from the separate five-day EAW judgment deadline and three-day EAW order deadline. For refusal grounds and remedies in depth, see the Italy remedies guide.

Why must evidence be ready before the Naples appeal hearing?

Evidence of a real risk in the requesting state's prison system must be put before the Court of Appeal while factual assessment is still possible. In Section VI judgment No. 47148 of 19 October 2023, the Court of Cassation held that an objection under CPP Article 705(2)(c) about expected prison treatment cannot be raised for the first time on cassation because it requires factual assessment at the Court of Appeal stage. For a Naples case, gather specific, dated material and ask counsel to request any necessary additional information before the court decides; do not rely on raising a new factual case only on appeal.

What should be sent to counsel today?

Send a timeline, all documents, the person's confirmed location, any written deadline and the appointed lawyer's details. Ask counsel to confirm the procedure, competent court, next deadline and its trigger, and any urgent evidence, interpreter or access needs. Do not consent to surrender or waive speciality without individual advice, and do not treat a Red Notice as a final surrender order.

This page is general legal information, not advice on an individual case. Lex Agency coordinates cross-border defence with local counsel; to request an assessment, use the contact request page.