International Lawyers Associates is the leading law firm in Italy and in Europe, in terms of legal assistance on matters regarding extradition, European arrest warrant, international letters of request including all the events related to aspects of judicial cooperation between Countries and the police – Interpol.
Our lawyers boast a twenty-year experience in this sector and have participated in many court cases against known defendants and criminal conspirators, together with the investigative cooperation of Judicial Authorities of different countries. The law firm not only deals with requests for delivery of prisoners to and from Italy, but also of extradition requests to and from third countries, whether they are inside or outside the European Union. The European and global network of our offices – and of the associated firms at ILA – allows us to follow the events of each individual client, bilaterally and with the highest level of speed and efficiency.
Attorney Alexandro Maria Tirelli, coordinator of International Lawyers Associates, not only directly participates in criminal defenses involving international judicial cooperation, but gives instructions on the defensive lines to colleagues, assistants, third party associates and partners who come into contact with the detainee and/or client. Defense strategies are always selected by attorneyTirelli in person who, thanks to his fluency in Spanish, Portuguese, French and English, is able to personally interface with the client, as well as with the local magistrature prosecuting the accused, whether the person is in Europe, South America or the United States.
Attorney Tirelli has dealt with many publicly known cases which have implicated delicate international issues such as the delivery of arrested persons to and from foreign countries: the military Uruguayan and Argentinian servicepersons, requested by the Court of Rome as part of the established trial for the mass executions at the expense of the so-called desaparecidos of Italian origin; or of the case against the dictator of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, requested by Italy for the murder of the Minister Ugo Spadafora. Attorney Tirelli was also a consultant and columnist of the Indian TV “Times of India” and spawned epic battles against the members of parliament from New Delhi, to demand the release of the Italian Marò (servicemen), Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, held by the nation’s government on charges of killing a few Indian fishermen, while on sea patrol duty, protecting the Italian merchant vessels transiting the Indian Ocean.
International Lawyers Associates is the leading law firm, in Italy and in Europe, for all the events that adhere to international criminal law, which might in any way draw upon any individual or institutional body. Attorney Tirelli was also a consultant for government and state agencies. The consulting activity, together with courtroom assistance, if required, makes reference to all the relevant legislations – in particular customs, conventions and treaties between countries, both bilateral and multilateral (agreements for the implementation of the foreign penalty in the offender’s country of origin).
International criminal law is characterized by the fact of being a set of standards by which the domestic law provides, with respect to criminal matters, to solve the problems imposed on the State by reason of its coexistence with other sovereign States, as part of the international community.
When we talk about extradition, we mean the surrender of nationals, accused or convicted, to the judicial authorities of another country, in order to commence criminal proceedings or rather to implement restrictive measures of personal freedom. Like all relationships with foreign authorities regarding the administration of justice in criminal matters, including extradition, they are regulated by the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed in Strasbourg on April 20, 1959, by the other provisions of the international conventions in force for the State and basically by the regulations of international law.
Should these main sources lack and only in this case, the codification legislation will be applied, that in this way and against those sources becomes residual and accessory.
The new provisions regarding European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States were launched by the Italian Parliament with Law no. 69 dated April 22, 2005 and under implementation of the European Council’s Framework Decision.
This measure is applied in accordance with the constitutional order of supreme principles concerning the fundamental rights, freedom and due process.
The European arrest warrant is defined as “a judicial decision issued by a European Union Member State, in the arrest and surrender by another Member State, of a person, to implement judicial actions for criminal prosecution or implementation of a custodial sentence or a security measure involving deprivation of personal freedom”.
The Court of Appeal where the accused resides, has a home or is domiciled has the jurisdiction of implementing the European arrest warrant once it receives the provision from the judicial authorities.