Extradition from Germany to Ukraine is subject to the European Convention on Extradition of December 1957 / Additional Protocol of March 1978.

It is only on the basis of the search at Interpol initiated by the Ukraine that provisional arrest for extradition can be ordered against the persecuted person in Germany. In our practice, we have had good experience in preventing provisional detention through an active strategy and cooperation with the German authorities.

The case law of German courts on extradition requests from Ukraine takes into account the grievances of the Ukrainian judiciary criticised by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) only to a limited extent.

Nevertheless, we notice a clear trend reversal. The Federal Office of Justice, for example, refused to grant permission to the Ukraine after we had arranged for German consular officials to examine the specific conditions of detention in Kiev. However, we must be aware that such decisions will remain individual case decisions for the foreseeable future. Germany will not generally stop extradition traffic with Ukraine. But Ukraine constantly provides good arguments to prevent extradition in individual cases.