Part 2 Surrender of Persons

§ 2 Principle
(relating to Article 89 para. 1 and Article 91 para. 2 and 3 of the Rome Statute)

Persons, the surrender of whom is requested by the International Criminal Court pursuant to the Rome Statute and who are located within the Federal Republic of Germany, shall be surrendered for criminal prosecution and execution of a sentence in accordance [with] the Rome Statute and this law.

Part 2 Surrender of Persons

§ 6 Approval of Surrender

The surrender, except in the case of § 32, shall only be approved when the court has declared it permissible.


§ 7 Subject Matter Jurisdiction

(1) The Higher Regional Court shall pass judgment in the absence of other agreement. Judgments of the Higher Regional Court are non-appealable.
(2) The public prosecution office attached to the Higher Regional Court shall prepare the decision regarding the surrender and shall implement approved surrenders.


§ 8 Venue

(1) Venue lies with the Higher Regional Court and the public prosecution office attached to the Higher Regional Court in whose district the suspect is apprehended for the purpose of surrender or, when there has been no apprehension, where the first investigation took place.
(2) If multiple suspects, because of participation in the same criminal act or in connection therewith, are captured or investigated in the districts of different Higher Regional Courts for the purpose of surrender, venue is determined by which Higher Regional Court was first involved is or, when none was yet involved, by which public prosecution office attached to the Higher Regional Court was first involved.
(3) When the whereabouts of the suspect is unknown, venue is determined by the seat of the federal government.


§ 9 Investigation Measures
(relating to Article 59 para. 1 of the Rome Statute)

(1) After receipt of a request by the Court for arrest and surrender based upon Article 89 para. 1 of the Rome Statute or provisional arrest based upon Article 92 para. 1 of the Rome Statute, measures necessary for determination of the whereabouts of the suspect as well as for arrest of the suspect shall be taken. The provisions in para. 9a of Part One of the Criminal Procedure Code (Strafprozessordnung) apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) No special request by the Court is required for ordering individual investigation measures. The public prosecution office attached to the Higher Regional Court is responsible [for] issuing an arrest notice.

§ 10
Detention of Persons to be Surrendered
(relating to Article 59 para. 1 of the Rome Statute)

Upon receipt of the request for arrest and surrender along with the documents required for surrender for criminal prosecution pursuant to Article 91 para. 2 of the Rome Statute or for surrender for execution of sentence pursuant to Article 91 para. 3 of the Rome Statute, detention of the suspect prior to surrender shall be ordered.

Part 2 Surrender of persons

§ 11 Provisional Detention of Persons to be Surrendered
(relating to Article 59 para. 1 and 10 Article 92 of the Rome Statute)

(1) When there is a request of the Court for provisional arrest accompanied by the documents set forth in Article 92 para. 2 of the Rome Statute, provisional detention for surrender shall be ordered. The order of detention for surrender shall be rescinded when the suspect has been detained for a total of 60 days for the purpose of the surrender since the day of capture or provisional arrest without a request by the Court for arrest and surrender, nor presentation of the documents required by the Statute to the office responsible pursuant to § 68 para. 1, nor a declaration by the suspect within this deadline of his agreement with streamlined surrender (§ 33).
(2) Prior to receipt of the request for arrest and surrender or a request for provisional arrest, provisional detention for surrender may be ordered when the person has committed an act that would subject him to surrender to the Court and based upon certain criminal acts there is strong suspicion, and
1. danger exists that the suspect will flee prior to the surrender proceedings or implementation of the surrender, or
2. based upon certain criminal acts strong suspicion exists that the suspect will hinder the investigation of the truth in the Court’s proceedings or hinder the surrender proceedings.
Regarding a suspect against whom there is a strong suspicion of genocide (Article 6 of the Rome Statute) or crimes against humanity (Article 7 of the Rome Statute), provisional detention for surrender may also be ordered when certain criminal acts provide a basis that, without arrest of the suspect, the explanation of the acts that the suspect is accused of committing could be endangered. The appropriate measures should be used to ensure that the office responsible pursuant to § 68 para. 1 can inform the Court of the order of detention pursuant to sentence 1 or 2.
(3) An of arrest for surrender pursuant to para. 2 shall be rescinded when the Court states that it does not want to make a corresponding request or the suspect, since the day of capture or provisional arrest, has spent one month in detention based upon the surrender, without a request by the Court for arrest and surrender or for provisional arrest having been received by the office responsible pursuant to § 68 para. 1. Upon receipt of a request by the Court for arrest and surrender or for provisional arrest, the deadline referred to in para. 1 sentence 2 shall be applied.

§ 12 Warrant of Arrest for Surrender

(1) Provisional detention for surrender and detention for surrender shall be ordered based upon a written arrest warrant (Überstellungshaftbefehl) by the Higher Regional Court.
(2) The written arrest warrant for surrender shall state:
1. the suspect,
2. the alleged criminal acts of the suspect,
3. the request and the accompanying surrender documents or, in the case of § 11 para. 2 sentence 1 or 2, the reason for detention and the criminal acts that are the basis therefore, as well as the acts from which arises a strong suspicion that the suspect committed an act upon which his surrender may be based.
(3) A written arrest warrant for surrender shall be rescinded when the request is withdrawn, the Court states that proceedings upon which the surrender request is based are impermissible, or the surrender has been declared impermissible.

Article 59
Arrest proceedings in the custodial State
1. A State Party which has received a request for provisional arrest or for arrest and surrender shall immediately take steps to arrest the person in question in accordance with its laws and the provisions of Part 9.
2. A person arrested shall be brought promptly before the competent judicial authority in the custodial State which shall determine, in accordance with the law of that State, that:
(a) The warrant applies to that person;
(b) The person has been arrested in accordance with the proper process; and
(c) The person's rights have been respected.
3. The person arrested shall have the right to apply to the competent authority in the custodial State for interim release pending surrender.
4. In reaching a decision on any such application, the competent authority in the custodial State shall consider whether, given the gravity of the alleged crimes, there are urgent and exceptional circumstances to justify interim release and whether necessary safeguards exist to ensure that the custodial State can fulfil its duty to surrender the person to the Court. It shall not be open to the competent authority of the custodial State to consider whether the warrant of arrest was properly issued in accordance with article 58, paragraph 1 (a) and (b).
5. The Pre-Trial Chamber shall be notified of any request for interim release and shall make recommendations to the competent authority in the custodial State. The competent authority in the
custodial State shall give full consideration to such recommendations, including any recommendations on measures to prevent the escape of the person, before rendering its decision.
6. If the person is granted interim release, the Pre-Trial Chamber may request periodic reports on the status of the interim release.
7. Once ordered to be surrendered by the custodial State, the person shall be delivered to the Court as soon as possible.

Article 89
Surrender of persons to the Court
1. The Court may transmit a request for the arrest and surrender of a person, together with the material supporting the request outlined in article 91, to any State on the territory of which that person may be found and shall request the cooperation of that State in the arrest and surrender of such a person. States Parties shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Part and the procedure under their national law, comply with requests for arrest and surrender.

This provision follows the ICC Statute.