Since 2004, a modernized regime for the surrender of persons applies within the borders of the European Union. Since then we no longer speak of extradition within Europe, but of surrender. A surrender request is made by issuing a European Arrest Warrant (EAW). When an EAW is issued by a Member State, the person claimed is signaled in all other European Member States. Surrender may be requested for prosecution in the issuing Member State or for serving a custodial sentence already imposed. The Netherlands has included an exception in its Surrender Act (Overleveringswet) which means that Dutch nationals are not surrendered to serve a sentence that has already been imposed.
The Public Prosecutor has the authority to arrest you and to take you into police custody. You hereby have the right to be represented by a lawyer. The starting point is that - if there is no danger of flight - you can await your surrender procedure in freedom. However, it is customary that you have to hand in your passport and that a duty to report is imposed by the Public Prosecutor or the examining magistrate. The Amsterdam District Court is charged with handling surrender cases. A special room has been created for this purpose, the International Legal Assistance Division (IRK).
One of the characteristics of the surrender procedure is that it is generally faster than the traditional extradition procedure. Certainly when you opt for the so-called consent procedure. In that case, you are usually transferred to the issuing Member State within 10 days. It is very important to be assisted by a specialized lawyer in surrender proceedings. We can assist you throughout the entire procedure and, if necessary, we can also help you find a good criminal lawyer in the issuing Member State.
