Extradition between Germany and Cyprus

According to the European Arrest Warrant, states are obliged to extradite their citizens. This means that a German citizen must also be extradited from Germany to Cyprus if an extradition request is issued by Cyprus. The only exception to this principle is if the state itself takes over the execution of the custodial sentence against the wanted person (Art. 4 No. 6 of the EU Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant).

Both Cyprus and Germany are members of the European Union. Even though Cyprus joined the EU on 1 May 2004, some specific features remain regarding the Mediterranean state’s EU membership. Firstly, Cyprus is still not a full member of the Schengen area. Accession to the Schengen area has been sought for years, but certain conditions remain unfulfilled, which is why accession is still being delayed. However, Cyprus still uses the Schengen Information System (SIS). Extradition traffic between Cyprus and other members of the European Union also works mainly via the European Arrest Warrant. However, not all national territory recognised under international law is subject to EU law.

Cyprus has been a politically divided country since 1974, and the northern part of the island is ruled by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is only recognised by Turkey. According to international law, the entire island territory belongs to the Republic of Cyprus, although its government can only exercise state authority in the south. EU law, therefore, only applies to those parts of the island that are under the actual control of the Republic of Cyprus.

Extradition law in Cyprus is generally governed by the Extradition of Fugitive Offenders Law (No. 97/1970), extended when Cyprus joined the European Convention on Extradition. Since Cyprus acceded to the European Union, extradition requests between the member states have been governed by Union law. Therefore, proceedings generally begin with issuing a European Arrest Warrant. In Cyprus, this is received directly by the SIS or the Ministry of Justice and Public Order through police or diplomatic channels. During the procedure, the wanted person is first given an oral hearing.

However, the European Arrest Warrant limits the grounds for refusing extradition. If the extradition request is granted, the person concerned still has the right to further review the extradition within the framework of court proceedings following the legal institution “habeas corpus”, which originates from common law. While these proceedings are ongoing, the person concerned cannot be extradited abroad.

Regarding the EAW, several compelling reasons exist for refusing an extradition request. These arise from Art. 3 of the Framework Decision on EAW. These include a previous conviction for the same offence (“ne bis in idem” principle), the requested person being a minor under the law of the executing state and an amnesty for the underlying offence in the executing state. In addition, several optional grounds can lead to a refusal of the extradition request. These are defined in Art. 4 of the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant. These grounds include, for example, the statute of limitations, ongoing criminal proceedings in the executing state or no double criminality for offences other than those belonging to the 32 offences listed in Art. 2 para. 2 of the Framework Decision on EAW.