International Mutual Legal Assistance

International mutual legal assistance in criminal matters is the assistance provided by foreign authorities, in particular by public prosecutors' offices, courts and consulates, in investigative, criminal or enforcement matters, or the assistance provided to foreign authorities by German authorities.

International mutual legal assistance in criminal matters finds its basis in mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties, or if there are no such treaties, then in the Law on International Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (IRG).

The main areas of application within the framework of international mutual legal assistance are so-called minor mutual legal assistance, i.e. measures for a foreign state that do not directly restrict freedom, such as service of documents, interrogations or searches, and so-called major mutual legal assistance, i.e. extradition to the requesting state in order to be tried there or in order to be able to complete a sentence that has already been imposed.

I advise and defend you in connection with extradition as well as non-custodial measures (account freezes, threatened confiscation of assets, searches and seizure of property). I have been involved in international mutual legal assistance proceedings for many years (in particular in the context of extraditions from the UK) and therefore have specialist knowledge gained in these proceedings.