Extradition in Spain: Defence for International Cases

Spain is an active participant in international extradition arrangements, operating under bilateral extradition treaties with numerous states including the United States, and under the European Union’s surrender framework with EU member states. The Audiencia Nacional — Spain’s National Court based in Madrid — handles all extradition cases, exercising exclusive jurisdiction over international criminal matters. The process is genuinely two-stage: a judicial assessment of legal admissibility followed by an executive decision by the Council of Ministers, which retains full discretionary power to refuse extradition even after a positive court ruling.

Spain and the United States concluded a bilateral extradition treaty in 1970, supplemented by additional protocols. The treaty provides for extradition for offences carrying a minimum penalty of one year imprisonment. Spain does not extradite its own nationals — Article 13.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits it — but Spain applies the principle of aut dedere aut judicare: if a Spanish national cannot be extradited, Spain must prosecute them domestically for the offence if the requesting state so requests. Foreign nationals in Spain face extradition to treaty partners including the US.

The Spanish-US treaty applies a list approach to extraditable offences rather than pure dual criminality, though the treaty list is broad and includes most financial crimes, drug offences, and violent crimes. US extradition requests in financial crime cases have generally been admitted by the Audiencia Nacional, though Spanish courts have applied detailed scrutiny to the adequacy of US jurisdiction where the US connection to the charged conduct is limited.

An extradition request from a foreign state arrives through diplomatic channels and is forwarded to the Audiencia Nacional. The Chambre de l’Instruction — the relevant chamber — schedules a hearing at which the person sought is entitled to legal representation, to challenge the request, and to present arguments against extradition. The court assesses: whether the treaty applies; whether the request meets formal requirements; dual criminality or list offence compliance; the political offence exception; the statute of limitations; double jeopardy; and human rights concerns.

Following the court’s decision, the case proceeds to the Council of Ministers for the executive stage. The Council reviews the court’s ruling and has full discretionary authority — it can refuse extradition on political, diplomatic, or public interest grounds even where the court has approved the request. In practice, the Council has exercised this authority in cases with significant political dimensions, including cases involving Catalan independence proceedings and cases where diplomatic relations with the requesting state were strained.

Spain’s political offence exception has been applied in a range of high-profile extradition cases. The exception applies where the offence for which extradition is requested is of a political character, or where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the extradition request was made for the purpose of prosecuting the person for their political opinions, race, religion, nationality, or membership of a particular social group.

Spanish courts have applied the exception broadly in cases involving Catalan separatists sought by Spain’s own prosecution service for offences committed in Spain — these cases were handled as internal Spanish constitutional matters, but they illustrate the breadth of the political exception under Spanish law. For extradition requests from authoritarian states, the exception provides meaningful protection, and Spanish courts have considered evidence of political motivation from human rights organisations and country condition reports.

Spain continues to operate under the European Arrest Warrant framework with EU member states. Post-Brexit, surrender to and from the United Kingdom operates under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement surrender provisions, which are functionally similar to the EAW but include a Secretary of State check on the UK side and additional procedural steps. Spain implements EAW proceedings through the Audiencia Nacional on an expedited basis — typically within 60 days for consenting persons and 90 days for contested cases — significantly faster than the bilateral treaty process.

Spain is an INTERPOL member and enforces Red Notices at border crossings and through the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía and Guardia Civil. A Red Notice creating provisional arrest risk in Spain will be acted on. However, Spanish courts scrutinise the underlying extradition request independently — a provisional arrest does not lead automatically to extradition. The combination of CCF challenge and Spanish extradition proceedings provides two parallel opportunities to address the enforcement risk.

Contact our team for advice on Spain-connected Interpol and extradition cases. See our guidance on CCF challenges, Red Notice removal, and non-extradition countries for strategic location context.