Extradition Lawyer in Plzen: Krajský soud v Plzni and the Local Procedure

For conventional extradition to a non-EU state, an arrest within the Plzeň court circuit will ordinarily place the case before Krajský soud v Plzni (the Plzeň Regional Court), with the preliminary inquiry handled by Krajské státní zastupitelství v Plzni (the Plzeň Regional Public Prosecutor’s Office). A European Arrest Warrant (EAW) uses a similar territorial rule under § 202 of Act No. 104/2013, but follows a separate surrender procedure; the Minister of Justice’s authorisation stage under § 97 belongs to ordinary extradition, not EAW surrender. If preliminary custody is sought, the prosecutor must bring the arrested person before the court with a motion within 48 hours of arrest. After the motion reaches the court, the judge must decide on release or custody within 24 hours. Failure to meet either deadline requires release. There is no single statutory deadline for the whole ordinary-extradition case.

Identify the legal instrument before calculating deadlines. An EAW is a distinct EU surrender procedure, not ordinary extradition; special surrender arrangements may also apply in some relationships, so check the actual document rather than infer the procedure from geography alone. An INTERPOL Red Notice is a police alert, not itself an extradition order. The Czech Republic country guide covers the nationwide framework; this page focuses on the local route in Plzeň.

Which court and prosecutor handle an arrest in the Plzeň district?

Under § 87(1) of Act No. 104/2013, territorial competence follows the place of arrest; if there was no arrest, it follows where the person is staying. A later change does not shift venue after the preliminary inquiry begins. The corresponding prosecutor’s office is the one operating at that court under § 87(2), so a family address or the location of the foreign case does not determine the local court.

Institution	Local role and verified details
Krajský soud v Plzni	Decides preliminary extradition custody and admissibility. Veleslavínova 40, 306 17 Plzeň; +420 377 868 121 or +420 377 868 888.
Krajské státní zastupitelství v Plzni	Conducts the preliminary inquiry and submits the relevant motion. Veleslavínova 27/38, 301 00 Plzeň; +420 377 868 511; podatelna@ksz.plz.justice.cz.
Vrchní soud v Praze	Hears complaints from first-instance decisions of Krajský soud v Plzni.
Věznice Plzeň	May hold a person in preliminary custody, depending on the actual placement. Klatovská třída 202, 306 35 Plzeň; +420 377 660 111.

The court’s circuit covers ten district-court areas: Domažlice, Cheb, Karlovy Vary, Klatovy, Plzeň-jih, Plzeň-město, Plzeň-sever, Rokycany, Sokolov and Tachov. The court also lists a workplace at Moskevská 17 in Karlovy Vary; the page does not say whether a particular extradition hearing will be held there, so confirm the venue. The main entrance is on Veleslavínova, with security screening; the step-free entrance is on Sedláčkova (security: +420 377 868 888). Tram 1/2 serve Náměstí Republiky/Hlavní pošta and tram 4 serves Sady Pětatřicátníků.

D5 connects Plzeň with the Rozvadov crossing. An arrest there in the Tachov district points to Krajský soud v Plzni under the place-of-arrest rule; this geographic fact does not prove that border checks are operating or that an arrest occurred.

Does the Plzeň route change for an EAW or treaty request?

The actual legal instrument and applicable treaty depend on the request. The Czech Republic country guide explains the national framework and treaty selection; this page focuses on the Plzeň court, prosecutor, custody and access route.

The nationwide thresholds and refusal grounds under §§ 90–91 are addressed in the Czech refusal-and-appeals guide; this page focuses on the local court, custody and hearing route.

What happens at the Plzeň court during the first 72 hours?

The “first 72 hours” is a practical action plan, not one statutory deadline. The key clocks are the 48-hour presentation rule and the separate 24-hour judicial-decision rule.

Stage	Rule and immediate action
Immediately after arrest	A prosecutor, or police with consent, may arrest the person if the statutory custody conditions and sufficient identity information are present. In an urgent case police may act before consent but must notify the prosecutor without delay. Under § 93(2), the person may ask for a defence lawyer to be present during the arrest interview unless the lawyer cannot be reached within the applicable period. Ask for an interpreter if Czech is not understood; record the exact time and place.
Within 48 hours of arrest	For ordinary extradition, § 93(3) requires the prosecutor to bring the person before the court with a motion for preliminary custody. For an EAW, § 204(4) applies the same presentation rule by reference. If the prosecutor does not present the person with the required motion within 48 hours of arrest, release is required. This is not the deadline for the final surrender decision.
Within 24 hours after the court receives the motion	Under § 94(1), the Criminal Procedure Code’s § 77(2) applies to the decision on the arrested person. The judge must hear the person and decide whether to release them or order preliminary custody within 24 hours after receiving the prosecutor’s motion. Exceeding that period is a ground requiring release.
After the first custody decision	Preliminary custody is not automatic: the court must assess the statutory risk of absconding. The prosecutor continues the preliminary inquiry and checks possible legal or treaty obstacles; the court later decides admissibility in ordinary extradition or surrender under the separate EAW provisions. Preserve orders and service dates and give counsel the warrant and relevant protection or medical evidence.

Do not consent to simplified extradition without legal advice. Under § 96, consent is given before the presiding judge with defence counsel present after the consequences are explained; it cannot be withdrawn and waives reliance on the speciality principle. The simplified route bypasses the ordinary admissibility decision and ministerial authorisation, but certain statutory refusal grounds remain relevant. Their scope and how to raise them belong to the Czech refusal-and-appeals guide linked above.

Section 94(2) treats preliminary extradition custody as a special measure and applies only specified ordinary-custody provisions as stated in that section. Check §§ 93–94 and the applicable treaty rather than importing ordinary-custody deadlines automatically.

Where may a person be held in the Plzeň area?

Věznice Plzeň may hold local detainees, but not everyone arrested across the regional court circuit will be placed there. Its internal rules, marked effective from 20 September 2022, list custody for people remanded by the Plzeň-město, Plzeň-sever, Plzeň-jih, Domažlice, Rokycany, Klatovy and Tachov district courts and Krajský soud v Plzni, with possible placement by other courts. Confirm actual placement in the individual case.

The facility page lists Klatovská třída 202, 306 35 Plzeň, +420 377 660 111 and administrative hours Monday–Friday, 8:00–15:00; these are not visiting hours. Confirm location and current visit, call and document rules first. The published custody rules name Krajské státní zastupitelství v Plzni as supervisory prosecutor for custody in its circuit; another facility may have a different supervisor.

Which deadlines and appeal route apply in the Plzeň circuit?

Event	Deadline and trigger
Presentation after arrest	Within 48 hours from arrest, the prosecutor must bring the person before the court with a custody motion under § 93(3), also applied to EAW arrests by § 204(4); otherwise release is required.
Judge’s decision after presentation	Within 24 hours after the court receives the prosecutor’s motion, the judge must hear the person and decide on release or preliminary custody. This follows from § 94(1) of Act No. 104/2013 read with § 77(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code; exceeding the period requires release.
EAW arrives after preliminary custody begins	Under § 204(5), if the inquiry began before the EAW was delivered and it is not delivered to the competent public prosecutor’s office within 20 days from placement in preliminary custody, release is required unless simplified surrender applies. Later delivery may permit a new custody decision.
Ordinary extradition request arrives after preliminary custody begins	Under § 94(3), if the inquiry began before the foreign request was delivered, release is required if the request is not delivered within 40 days from placement in preliminary custody. The simplified-extradition exception applies; later receipt may permit a new custody decision. For this rule, delivery to the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, a Czech diplomatic mission abroad or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also counts as delivery. The requesting state and treaty must be checked for any separate deadline.
Complaint against a court order	Normally three days from notification under § 143(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The complaint is filed with the authority that issued the order. If notification is required to both the person and defence counsel, the later notification controls; counsel must check the actual service record and translation issues immediately.

The § 95(1) complaint has suspensive effect, is lodged with Krajský soud v Plzni and is decided by Vrchní soud v Praze. For ordinary extradition, § 97 authorisation requires a court admissibility decision that is both final and enforceable; the Minister may still refuse. In III. ÚS 1547/26 (5 August 2026), the Czech Constitutional Court (Ústavní soud) held that authorising extradition while enforceability was stayed violated the right to judicial protection. A constitutional complaint should not be assumed to create a stay automatically; check for an actual stay order. There is no fixed overall duration.

What should the family and foreign lawyer prepare?

Full name, date of birth, nationality and identity-document details.
Exact arrest time and place, police unit if known, and the court or prosecutor named on paperwork.
Copies of the foreign warrant, any INTERPOL information, Czech arrest record, custody order, summons and proof of service dates.
Foreign lawyer’s contact details, foreign case number, and the charging document or judgment if available.
Securely provide counsel with evidence about residence, work, family ties, health needs, asylum or international protection, and any individual risk in the requesting state.
State which language the person understands. Under §§ 2(14) and 28 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a person who does not understand Czech may request interpretation; specified documents may require written translation.

Confirm the hearing room and arrival time, allow for security screening, and arrange accessibility in advance. If the person is detained, have counsel verify the actual prison and confidential lawyer-contact procedure.

What does the local route look like in a hypothetical case?

Hypothetical example: a Georgian national is arrested on the D5 near Rozvadov on a non-EU request. If arrested in Tachov district, § 87 points to Krajský soud v Plzni and its associated prosecutor. If custody is sought, the 48-hour presentation deadline applies. The defence should identify the instrument, obtain the papers, arrange counsel and an interpreter, and preserve service dates. Proximity to Germany does not make this an EAW case or make extradition automatic.

The immediate questions are: what instrument caused the arrest, when and where did it happen, where is the person now, and what decision comes next? Those facts let counsel calculate live deadlines and contact the correct local authorities.

Frequently asked questions

Does Krajský soud v Plzni make the final surrender decision?

No. It decides admissibility. In ordinary extradition, the Minister of Justice makes a separate authorisation decision under § 97, but only after the court decision is final and enforceable; the minister may refuse. The Czech Constitutional Court (Ústavní soud) confirmed in III. ÚS 1547/26 (5 August 2026) that authorisation is unlawful while enforceability is stayed.

Does a Red Notice mean the person must be extradited?

No. A Red Notice is a police alert, not itself an extradition order. The legal basis for arrest and the applicable extradition or EAW procedure must be identified.

Will every person arrested near Plzeň be held at Věznice Plzeň?

No. Published internal rules describe the facility’s local custody profile, but actual placement depends on the competent authority and the circumstances. Confirm the location in the individual case.

Is the 48-hour rule the deadline for the whole case?

No. The prosecutor’s 48-hour presentation deadline is followed by a separate 24-hour period for the judge to decide after receiving the motion. Other deadlines apply to an EAW or an ordinary extradition request arriving after custody begins; admissibility and, for ordinary extradition only, ministerial authorisation come later.

Sources and official references

For a case-specific assessment, provide the arrest date and place, the document or alert relied on by the authorities, and any court papers. The site’s team coordinates cross-border defence with local counsel; use the request page to make an enquiry.