Extradition Lawyer in Piraeus: Council of the Piraeus Court of Appeal and the Local Procedure

In Piraeus, a contested traditional extradition request is routed through the Public Prosecutor of the Piraeus Court of Appeal’s Judicial Assistance–Extraditions Section and heard by the Council of the Piraeus Court of Appeal (Symvoulio Efeton Peiraios). The Greek Code of Criminal Procedure sets a three-day convening rule triggered by receipt of arrest reports and a five-day appeal period triggered by publication of the final Council decision; it gives no fixed end-to-end completion date. If the person expressly consents to traditional extradition, Article 448 instead requires the declaration before the President of the Court of Appeal for the district where the person resides, with counsel and an interpreter if needed. For a contested case, the Minister of Justice may order extradition only after the Council’s favourable opinion becomes final; an Article 448 consent case follows the President’s separate opinion route under Article 448(2).

First identify the instrument. A request from a non-EU state follows the applicable treaty and Greek extradition rules; a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is a separate EU procedure under Law 3251/2004.

Which Piraeus institutions actually handle the file?

Institution	Local role and access
Council of the Piraeus Court of Appeal (Symvoulio Efeton Peiraios)	Hears contested extradition with the prosecutor and defence, and checks identity, documents and legal eligibility. It also decides an EAW if there is no consent. The official address is Skouze 3–5, Piraeus 18535; telephone 213 215 7223. General hours are weekdays 07:00–15:00; criminal hearings start at 09:00.
Public Prosecutor of the Piraeus Court of Appeal (Eisangelia Efeton Peiraios)	Its Judicial Assistance–Extraditions Section handles foreign requests, provisional arrest, identity/rights records and custody or restriction orders, and sends extradition/EAW files to the Council. For a consent EAW, the section forwards the file to the President of the Court of Appeal for the district where the person resides or is arrested. Address: Skouze 3–5 and Filonos, Piraeus 18535. Public hours are weekdays 09:00–14:00; lawyers may enter on working days with professional ID without the same hourly restriction.
Port and arresting authority	Piraeus is a passenger port for ferries and cruises; the port operator does not decide extradition. If stopped there, record the arresting police or Coast Guard unit and legal basis. Listed terminals include Akti Vasileiadi, Heation, Agios Dionysios and Akti Tzelepi, so note the exact terminal, gate, vessel and time.
Detention facility	The actual detention facility cannot be inferred from the arrest location. Confirm the current location from the custody record or responsible authority; do not assume that a person arrested at the port is held at any particular prison.

Do not wait for routine office hours to find a lawyer or interpreter. Published access hours do not pause deadlines or guarantee relatives access to confidential information.

Does an arrest at the Piraeus port change the route?

It changes the first facts to establish, not the deciding authority. Give counsel the vessel, terminal, gate, sailing time, arresting unit and case number. Ask which legal instrument is being used and in what language the person understands the notice; an international alert alone does not identify the Greek procedure.

The prosecutor’s official page confirms a local Judicial Assistance–Extraditions Section for identity/rights records, provisional arrest and referral of extradition/EAW cases to the Council. If arrest occurred at Athens International Airport or elsewhere, check the actual location, residence and instrument rather than assuming Piraeus is competent.

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

This is a practical checklist, not a separate statutory 72-hour deadline. Article 449(1) requires the President to convene the Council within three days after receiving arrest reports—not automatically three days after arrest.

Stage	Rule and immediate action
Immediately after arrest	There is no universal “72-hour hearing” rule. Confirm the unit, time, location, case number and legal basis; request counsel and an interpreter; keep all notices.
After the reports reach the President	The Council must be convened within three days of receipt. The person may have chosen counsel and an interpreter or ask the President to appoint them. Confirm when the reports arrived and what is in the file.
At the hearing	The hearing is public unless the person requests a closed hearing or does not appear. Adjournment may be up to eight days, or a reasonable period for missing documents; Article 450(2) allows up to three months where further evidence is needed.
While custody continues	Article 449(4) permits restrictive terms instead of custody at any stage. Any substitution under Article 449(4) ends automatically when the decision approving extradition is published. Under the current wording of Article 452(2), the person must be released from extradition detention if 24 months pass from arrest; the Council may extend that period by a further six months. Release is also required if the requesting state does not collect the person within two months after the Minister’s decision is notified to that state. Check the applicable treaty, procedure and whether any separate legal basis for detention exists before applying these rules.

What does the Council decide—and what does it not decide?

Article 450 requires the Council to examine identity, supporting documents, legal eligibility and relevant legal bars. A treaty may affect whether it also examines supporting indications. The hearing is not ordinarily a full trial of guilt in the requesting state.

For a disputed identity, provide reliable identity documents. For a conviction request, obtain the full judgment, proof of finality and a translation. For another case, limitation, specialty or prohibited-treatment risk, counsel should identify the legal test and support it with records. Detailed refusal grounds and appeal strategy belong on the separate Greece extradition challenges and deadlines page.

How does an appeal from Piraeus work?

For a final traditional-extradition opinion, Article 451(1) allows the requested person or prosecutor to appeal to the Areios Pagos within five days from publication of the decision in court. The appeal is lodged through the issuing Court of Appeal’s clerk and must state its grounds. The Supreme Court, sitting in council, decides within 15 days, with summons at least three days before the hearing. The clock does not start on arrest or when a relative later hears of the decision.

For a European Arrest Warrant (EAW), do not apply the five-day traditional-extradition deadline. If the requested person does not consent to surrender, Article 22(1) of Law 3251/2004 provides a separate appeal to Areios Pagos within 24 hours from publication of the Council’s final decision. The appeal is lodged by a report before the clerk of the Court of Appeal for transmission to Areios Pagos. Obtain the written decision and counsel immediately; do not calculate this deadline from the arrest.

Article 451(3) also provides a separate, narrow appeal route from the President’s decision under Article 448: the prosecutor may appeal under the same procedure, and the requested person may appeal if Article 438 has been violated. This is not a general appeal from consent; counsel should identify the alleged violation and calculate the five-day period from publication of the President’s decision.

An appeal against the extradition opinion differs from a custody application. The Council may replace custody with restrictions; Article 452(3) assigns detention objections to it after at least three days’ notice. Ask whether a separate application is needed.

Is this traditional extradition or a European Arrest Warrant?

Question	Traditional extradition	European Arrest Warrant
Framework	Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 436–456 plus the treaty applicable to the requesting state.	Law 3251/2004 and the EU surrender framework; not the same procedure as extradition to a third state.
Decision-maker in Piraeus	In a contested case, the Council gives the judicial opinion; in an Article 448 consent case, the President of the Court of Appeal gives the opinion instead. The ministerial step follows only after the applicable favourable opinion is final.	Without consent, the Council for the district where the person resides or is arrested decides. With consent, the President of the Court of Appeal handles the separate statutory route.
Check first	Requesting state, applicable convention/bilateral treaty, request and supporting documents.	The EAW, issuing judicial authority, stated purpose and whether a consent declaration exists.
Appeal deadline	Five days from publication in court under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 451(1).	If the person does not consent: 24 hours from publication of the Council’s final decision under Law 3251/2004, Article 22(1).

Greece is party to the 1957 European Convention on Extradition. The Council of Europe lists Greek reservations/declarations concerning Articles 7, 11, 18(4) and 19; another treaty may govern. Do not infer the applicable treaty from nationality alone. For the national process, see Extradition from Greece; for the distinction between the two routes, see EAW surrender versus extradition.

What should family or foreign counsel send before the first call?

Full name, date of birth, nationality, identity-document details and variant spellings.
Arrest time, exact terminal/gate, vessel or sailing details, arresting unit, case number and current detention facility.
All papers: arrest record, provisional-arrest warrant, extradition request or EAW, court notice, and any document referring to an INTERPOL notice. Ask counsel to identify the operative Greek instrument.
For a conviction request: the full judgment, proof of finality, sentence information and translations—not only a summary.
Records relevant to identity, residence, family ties, health, asylum status, earlier proceedings, limitation or another specific issue counsel identifies. Keep originals safe and send legible copies first unless originals are required.
The preferred interpretation language, a reliable family contact, and details of any statement already signed, especially a consent declaration.

If consent is discussed, pause until the person has spoken privately with counsel. Under Article 448, express consent to traditional extradition is recorded before the President of the Court of Appeal for the district where the person resides, with counsel and an interpreter if the person does not know Greek; the Code treats the recorded declaration as irrevocable, subject to the narrow remedy in Article 451(3) if Article 438 has been violated. Consent is not the same as merely waiving attendance at a hearing. Its effect must be checked against the actual treaty and case.

The next step is to identify the instrument and deadline

For a person arrested in Piraeus, establish the instrument, when arrest reports were received, the hearing date, current detention location and decision date. This helps counsel distinguish the three-day convening rule, the five-day traditional-extradition appeal, the 24-hour appeal for a non-consent EAW, and any separate custody application.

Questions families often ask

Which appeal deadline applies: five days or 24 hours?

They apply to different routes. For a final Council opinion in traditional extradition, Article 451(1) sets five days from publication in court. For an EAW where the requested person does not consent to surrender, Article 22(1) of Law 3251/2004 sets 24 hours from publication of the Council’s final decision. Counsel should calculate the applicable deadline immediately from the official record.

Does the Piraeus port operator decide an extradition or EAW case?

No. The port operator lists and manages passenger terminals; it does not decide extradition or surrender. The Piraeus Appeals Prosecutor’s Judicial Assistance–Extraditions Section handles the local prosecutorial steps, and the competent judicial authority decides under the applicable route.

Can a family member obtain the full file from the prosecutor?

Do not assume so. Public contact hours are published, but access to confidential documents depends on procedural status and applicable rules. The person or authorised counsel should request access; Article 447 also recognises the arrested person’s right to inspect extradition documents personally or through counsel and request copies at their own expense.

Sources and official local information

For an initial consultation, send the basic case details and a copy or photo of the document identifying the procedure through the request page.