An extradition request usually represents a great emotional burden and a legal challenge for those affected, which they should not face under any circumstances without experienced legal support.
As a multidisciplinary, globally active law firm, Schlun & Elseven is your reliable partner to protect you from extradition effectively. In doing so, we not only advise and represent clients who are to be extradited from or to Germany but also use all our expertise and many years of experience to obtain a swift cancellation of Interpol Red Notices – depending on the country from which they were initiated. If extradition proceedings are already pending against you or if you anticipate such action in the future, contact our German extradition lawyers immediately so that we can take appropriate countermeasures.
Extraditions between Australia and Germany are carried out under the terms of the German-Australian Extradition Treaty from 1987 .
Extradition statistics from the Federal Office of Justice, which cover the years 2003 to 2020, show that 2017 was the last time extradition from Australia to Germany was granted. The last extradition to Australia was in 2014.
Extradition of German Citizens to Australia
Art. 6 of the Agreement states that the Contracting Parties are not obliged to extradite their citizens. Nevertheless, they are free to grant such extradition.
In Germany, however, there is a constitutional prohibition of extradition of its citizens, so authorisation is excluded in the case of a citizen, cf. Art. 16 II of the German Basic Law (GG).
Extradition Requirements
To be considered extraditable, the offence with which the person concerned is charged must be punishable under the law of both states by a custodial sentence of a maximum of at least one year, cf. Art. 2 of the Treaty.
It does not matter that the offence is covered by the same terminology in both states. It is also irrelevant whether the assessment of an act as a corresponding offence differs in Germany and Canada.
The extradition request must represent the first conviction of the offence. If the person concerned has already been before a court in the requested state for the same offence and has been convicted or acquitted (or even if the proceedings have been finally discontinued), extradition for this offence will not be granted, cf. Art. 4 of the Treaty.
Extradition obstacles
According to the Agreement, extradition will be refused if it concerns a political offence or if there are serious grounds for believing that the extradition request is based on racist, religious or other discriminatory motives, cf. Art. 3 of the Treaty.
If the offence in question is punishable by death in the requesting state, extradition will be refused unless the death penalty is also threatened in the requested state, cf. Art. 6 of the Treaty. However, the death penalty has been abolished in Germany and Australia.
In addition to the obstacles to extradition laid down in the treaty, other obligations under international law must be considered in extradition cases. By signing the ECHR, Germany has an obligation to protect every human being from torture and other inhuman treatment, cf. Art. 3 ECHR. Accordingly, Germany should not grant extradition if there is a concrete suspicion that the person to be extradited would be subjected to such treatment. There are no known reports of torture in the Australian justice system.
Straightforward and typical obstacles to extradition concerning Australia are currently not apparent, which is why a detailed case-by-case examination is mandatory in the event of an extradition request from Australia.
Practice Group: German Extradition & Interpol Law
Practice Group:
Extradition & Interpol Law
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