Extradition and
European Arrest
Warrants in Spain

Between EU Member States, extradition has been replaced by the European Arrest Warrant, governed in Spain by Law 23/2014. A judge in another Member State can request a person for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

The person arrested is brought before a Central Investigating Court of the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid, which hears them, asks whether they consent to surrender and decides on custody while the warrant is processed. With consent, the decision must be taken within ten days; without it, within sixty, extendable in some cases.

Surrender is not automatic. The law sets out grounds on which it must or may be refused: the person has already been tried for the same facts, the offence is time-barred under Spanish law in certain cases, the person is a Spanish national or resident and asks to serve the sentence in Spain, or double criminality is required and not met. Prison conditions in the requesting state and the guarantees of trials held in absence can also be raised.

Requests from non-EU countries follow the applicable treaty and, otherwise, the Passive Extradition Law of 1985. There is a governmental phase and a judicial phase before the Criminal Chamber of the Audiencia Nacional; the final decision lies with the Government, which cannot grant an extradition the courts have refused. The defence focuses on double criminality, limitation, political offences, the risk of inhuman treatment, fair-trial guarantees and the person's ties to Spain.

Can I be arrested in Spain on another country's warrant?

Yes. A European Arrest Warrant or an Interpol red notice allows arrest in Spain. From that moment the person must be brought before the Audiencia Nacional and has the right to a lawyer and an interpreter.

Should I consent to surrender?

Consent speeds up surrender and generally prevents many objections from being raised later. It is a decision that should be taken only after legal advice.