3 ms·

UK law may be of no interest to you. But they can still press criminal charges, and Germany _will_ extradite you.

by jgilias 1y ago

IlikeKitties 1y ago
I'm a German National, so no, they won't extradite me.
- nocoiner 1y ago
  I’m sure they won’t, but it might be annoying to never be able to take a flight that connects in London for the rest of your life. I have no idea if this is a likely or even possible consequence, but that’s one way lots of people have gotten ensnared by the long arm of the law, even when jurisdiction is otherwise normally lacking.
  - closewith 1y ago
    Not at all. Many people avoid Heathrow because it's a terrible airport and many more because they don't want to submit themselves to the UK justice system, which is as classist and corrupt as they come.
    - kypro 1y ago
      You also have no human rights in British Airports. The state can just randomly decide to question you. They'll force you to hand over passwords to all electronic devices and slap you with a terror offence if you don't comply. You won't even have the right to remain silent. You'd be well advised to avoid a country this like.
      - octo888 1y ago
        Avoid France too for the same reasons. Similar laws exist for disclosure of passwords etc
      - kieloo 1y ago
        I would love to see a source for this.
- kaashif 1y ago
  To be clear - German nationals can be extradited to other EU countries under German law, but not third countries like the UK. If the UK had remained in the EU, then extradition might be possible (depending on whether courts approve it) but right now it's pretty unambiguously impossible.
  - louthy 1y ago
    IANAL but there appears to be an agreement between the UK and Germany. Not sure if it’s just criminal cooperation, or whether extradition is part of that: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-mutual-legal-assistance-agreements/mutual-legal-assistance-and-extradition-treaty-list-accessible-version#bilateral-uk-extradition-agreements https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-mut...
    - FinnKuhn 1y ago
      Not a lawyer, but that seems to be from the 60s and a quick Google search showed some court decisions that extraditions to the UK are not possible as staying silent can harm your defense, which contradicts German basic law where it states: "No German may be extradited to a foreign country. The law may provide otherwise for extraditions to a member state of the European Union or to an international court, provided that the rule of law is observed." Apparently Germany is also (at least as of 2023) not extraditing non-citizens to the UK due to the condition of British jails as well so: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/05/germany-refuses-extradite-albanian-man-uk-jail-conditions https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/05/germany-refu...
- kiliankoe 1y ago
  I guess you can never be sure, can you? https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest-Komplex#Maja_T https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest-Komplex#Maja_T.
prmoustache 1y ago
Only if you are not a German national. Germany notified UK after a certain period after Brexit that they will not extradite their own citizen, they will only do that to other EU countries. Having said that, it can limit a lot ones travel possibilities.

UK law may be of no interest to you. But they can still press criminal charges, and Germany _will_ extradite you.

IlikeKitties 1y ago

I'm a German National, so no, they won't extradite me.

nocoiner 1y ago
I’m sure they won’t, but it might be annoying to never be able to take a flight that connects in London for the rest of your life. I have no idea if this is a likely or even possible consequence, but that’s one way lots of people have gotten ensnared by the long arm of the law, even when jurisdiction is otherwise normally lacking.
- closewith 1y ago
  Not at all. Many people avoid Heathrow because it's a terrible airport and many more because they don't want to submit themselves to the UK justice system, which is as classist and corrupt as they come.
  - kypro 1y ago
    You also have no human rights in British Airports. The state can just randomly decide to question you. They'll force you to hand over passwords to all electronic devices and slap you with a terror offence if you don't comply. You won't even have the right to remain silent. You'd be well advised to avoid a country this like.
    - octo888 1y ago
      Avoid France too for the same reasons. Similar laws exist for disclosure of passwords etc
    - kieloo 1y ago
      I would love to see a source for this.
kaashif 1y ago
To be clear - German nationals can be extradited to other EU countries under German law, but not third countries like the UK. If the UK had remained in the EU, then extradition might be possible (depending on whether courts approve it) but right now it's pretty unambiguously impossible.
- louthy 1y ago
  IANAL but there appears to be an agreement between the UK and Germany. Not sure if it’s just criminal cooperation, or whether extradition is part of that: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-mutual-legal-assistance-agreements/mutual-legal-assistance-and-extradition-treaty-list-accessible-version#bilateral-uk-extradition-agreements https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-mut...
  - FinnKuhn 1y ago
    Not a lawyer, but that seems to be from the 60s and a quick Google search showed some court decisions that extraditions to the UK are not possible as staying silent can harm your defense, which contradicts German basic law where it states: "No German may be extradited to a foreign country. The law may provide otherwise for extraditions to a member state of the European Union or to an international court, provided that the rule of law is observed." Apparently Germany is also (at least as of 2023) not extraditing non-citizens to the UK due to the condition of British jails as well so: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/05/germany-refuses-extradite-albanian-man-uk-jail-conditions https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/05/germany-refu...
kiliankoe 1y ago
I guess you can never be sure, can you? https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest-Komplex#Maja_T https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest-Komplex#Maja_T.

prmoustache 1y ago

Only if you are not a German national. Germany notified UK after a certain period after Brexit that they will not extradite their own citizen, they will only do that to other EU countries. Having said that, it can limit a lot ones travel possibilities.