Extradition Lawyer in Poznan: Sąd Okręgowy w Poznaniu and the Local Procedure

Which Poznan office actually handles the file?

The Regional Court has several locations. Its published court-directory page places the III Wydział Karny (Third Criminal Division) at Al. Marcinkowskiego 32, 61-745 Poznań, while the court's general correspondence address is ul. Stanisława Hejmowskiego 2, 61-736 Poznań. The Third Criminal Division's published remit expressly includes proceedings connected with EAWs issued within the district. That wording does not prove that every incoming foreign warrant is assigned to that division. Ask the court information office or the lawyer handling the case to check the current judicial allocation and hearing venue against the reference number.

Unusually useful in Poznan is the court's Samodzielna Sekcja ds. Obrotu Prawnego z Zagranicą, a separate international judicial-cooperation section. Its published working location is ul. Szyperska 14, fifth floor, Poznań, but its published postal address is ul. Stanisława Hejmowskiego 2. The section supports cooperation with foreign courts, including criminal legal assistance; it is not a substitute for the criminal judge deciding surrender or the registry accepting filings in a particular case. This distinction matters when a foreign lawyer sends papers: confirm the docket, filing route and addressee before dispatch.

An arrest at Poznan-Ławica: what the first hours mean

The Border Guard maintains a named post at Poznan-Ławica, but a stop at that airport does not by itself establish jurisdiction, detention location or whether the alert is an EAW. The police, Border Guard and prosecutor may participate at different stages. If a family is told only that a person was stopped at Ławica, obtain the time of arrest, the actual arresting authority, the country seeking the person, and any court or prosecutor reference. An INTERPOL database entry or Schengen Information System alert can be a basis for arrest under the relevant Polish provisions; it is not itself a final order for surrender.

The following is a practical first-72-hours action plan, not a 72-hour statutory extradition deadline. The general arrest safeguards in Article 248 of the Code of Criminal Procedure require release if the detained person is not placed at the court's disposal with a remand application within 48 hours of arrest, and release if a remand order is not delivered or announced within the following 24 hours after that referral. Application of these rules to alert-based arrests is expressly referenced in Articles 605a and 607k; the procedural documents still have to be checked in the specific case.

How the two routes change the Poznan court timetable

EU EAW: Under Articles 607k–607m of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure, the prosecutor questions the person and brings the warrant to the territorially competent regional court. The court deals with surrender and remand at a hearing. Article 607m states a 40-day period from arrest for the regional court's surrender order and a 60-day period from arrest for final completion; specified exceptional circumstances can allow another 30 days for completion, with notice to the issuing authority. Where an irrevocable consent statement under Article 607l(2) is made, the corresponding periods are three days from the statement for the order and ten days from the statement for final completion. These are procedural targets with stated exceptions, not a promise of a hearing on a specific day. As at 16 July 2026, Article 607k(4) and Article 607m(3) concern permission from the competent Polish authority to prosecute in cases where Polish law requires it; separately, new Article 607ya (Dz.U. 2026 item 882) addresses a prior extraditing foreign state's consent to onward EAW surrender. These are different legal permissions with different starting-point or suspension consequences; counsel must check which, if either, applies before calculating the deadline.

Non-EU extradition: Articles 602–605 govern the court's consideration of a foreign request. The prosecutor questions the person; the regional court addresses admissibility, and a binding finding that extradition is inadmissible stops the transfer. After a final admissibility determination the Minister of Justice decides whether extradition occurs. Article 605 contains special provisional-custody situations, including up to 40 days before a formal extradition request under the provision's conditions; Article 605a separately provides a narrow up-to-seven-day measure based on certain alert requests before a provisional-arrest request. Those periods are not the EAW's 100-day total remand limit in Article 607k(3), and neither is an automatic detention entitlement. The treaty actually governing the requesting state may change the procedure or documents needed.

Poland's declaration under the 1957 European Convention on Extradition specifically addresses its replacement, where applicable between EU Member States, by the EAW regime. Its declaration under Article 6 concerns nationals and asylum. That is why the country issuing the request, citizenship and the precise treaty relationship must be checked before quoting a deadline or possible objection. For nationwide legal bases and stages, see the Poland extradition guide.

Does an interpreter or defence lawyer attend the first hearing?

Under Article 607l(1) the prosecutor and defence counsel are entitled to attend the EAW surrender/remand hearing; the person concerned must receive notice and information concerning the warrant subject to the safeguards in that provision. Article 72 protects access to free interpretation where the person does not sufficiently understand Polish, and Article 245 deals with prompt access to a lawyer following arrest. Inform counsel immediately of the language and dialect actually understood: a passport nationality is not a reliable proxy. Ask whether the person has received and understood the warrant, whether a translation is available, and whether consent or waiver of speciality is being proposed.

Consent to be surrendered is not the same as waiving protection against prosecution for earlier unrelated offences (the speciality rule). Article 607l treats these as separate recorded declarations and states that an accepted declaration cannot be withdrawn. In ordinary extradition, Article 603a also differentiates consent to extradition from consent coupled with waiver of speciality restrictions. A family member should not advise signing either form without a confidential consultation with Polish defence counsel.

Which Poznan authority hears a challenge?

There are three different questions. First, a challenge to the initial arrest under Article 246 is forwarded promptly to the competent sąd rejonowy (district court) for the place of arrest or proceedings; it is not automatically heard by the regional court's extradition panel. Second, a challenge to an EAW surrender order under Article 607l(3) is filed within three days of announcement, or of service if the person was deprived of liberty and not brought to the hearing. The appropriate appellate route is through the regional court to Sąd Apelacyjny w Poznaniu, whose II Criminal Division hears second-instance criminal matters. Third, ordinary-extradition admissibility orders can be challenged under Article 603(4); the general seven-day rule in Article 460 applies unless another rule governs the exact order. Separate remand orders have their own review rules. Always read the notice attached to the actual order.

For a prison-conditions objection to an EU warrant, Poznan counsel must present individualized evidence under Aranyosi and Căldăraru (2016), as refined by ML (2018) and Dorobantu (2019), not assume automatic non-execution. In sentence-enforcement cases, Rugu and Aucroix (4 June 2026) also requires the executing state, following an Article 4 Charter refusal, to seek transfer of the judgment for domestic enforcement under Framework Decision 2008/909; see the Poland remedies guide for the separate challenge.

Visiting someone held in Poznan is a separate procedure

Areszt Śledczy w Poznaniu is at ul. Młyńska 1. The Prison Service identifies it as a facility holding, among others, men on remand; a particular wanted person might be at another facility, so obtain confirmation before travelling. Its published visitor rules list remand visits on Mondays and Thursdays, 08:00–15:00, and the second Sunday of the month, 08:00–15:00. Booking is offered by telephone or the dedicated visiting email at least one day in advance; the visiting person should reach the pass office at least ten minutes before the booking. These published slots are not permission to visit: a remand prisoner requires an authorisation from the authority controlling detention and only authorised persons may attend. Confirm current times and approval with the Prison Service directly, especially around holidays. For the published booking desk, use 605 367 789 (working days 11:00–14:00) or as_poznan_widzenia@sw.gov.pl, after obtaining the separate visitor authorization.

This local access sequence is often more important to a family than the name of a court: first verify the actual prison; second identify the detention-controlling authority; third obtain the visit authorisation; and only then reserve a slot with the establishment. A lawyer's confidential access is governed by different professional and procedural rules from family visits. Do not assume the airport unit, prosecutor's registry or court cooperation section can issue a prison visiting pass.

What should family and foreign counsel prepare?

• The detained person's full name, date of birth, citizenship or citizenships, languages, location last confirmed, and exact arrest time.
• Photographs or copies of the arrest record, foreign warrant or request, any case reference, and the date and method of service of court orders.
• Names and contact details of the foreign defence lawyer, case number in the requesting state, and the documents establishing whether it is a sentence or a pending prosecution.
• Verified residence, employment, family-care obligations, health and medication documents where materially relevant to a lawful detention application; translations can be organised with counsel.
• A clear list of who has been contacted in Poznan: arresting authority, assigned prosecutor, court registry and prison. Record dates, not assumptions.

Hypothetical example: A Georgian citizen is stopped at Ławica after a non-EU country's INTERPOL alert. The family should not assume an EAW or assume that the named prison holds him. Counsel checks the alert and the basis for arrest under Article 605a, identifies the prosecutor and the territorially competent court, requests interpretation, and checks the conditions and dates of any provisional-detention order. If a formal extradition request arrives, the lawyer then follows the separate court-admissibility and ministerial route.

The site's team can coordinate cross-border defence with independent local counsel when needed: send a confidential enquiry.