FPC, 08.09.2026, RH.2026.8
Facts
On June 25, 2026, the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) issued an arrest warrant for the purpose of extradition against A. in the context of mutual legal assistance proceedings with France.
This warrant was served on him on July 21, 2026 (fact, p. 2).
On July 26, 2026, A. (hereinafter: the appellant) sent a letter to the Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court, constituting an appeal against this arrest warrant (fact, p. 2).
In a letter dated July 31, 2026, the Appeals Chamber noted that the appeal was not substantiated and contained no formal requests.
It therefore granted the appellant a deadline of August 13, 2026, to rectify his filing, specifying that failure to do so would result in the appeal being declared inadmissible (fact, p. 2).
The appellant did not respond to this request within the allotted time (consideration, p. 3).
Law
The Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court has jurisdiction to rule on appeals against arrest warrants for the purpose of extradition (Art. 48 para. 2 IMAC) (consideration, p. 2).
The appeal procedure is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
According toArt. 52 para. 1 APA, the statement of appeal must indicate the requests, the grounds, and the evidence, and must be signed (consideration, p. 2).
If an appeal does not meet these requirements, the appellate authority must grant the party a short period of time to rectify it (Art. 52 para. 2 APA).
This notice must include a warning that if the deadline is not met, the authority will rule based on the existing file or, if the submissions, grounds, or signature are missing, will declare the appeal inadmissible (Art. 52 para. 3 APA) (consid., p. 2).
The party whose appeal is declared inadmissible is considered the losing party and must, in principle, bear the costs of the proceedings (Art. 63 APA) (consid., p. 3).
Application to the specific case
The initial appeal of July 26, 2026, contained neither submissions nor grounds, thus failing to meet the requirements of Art. 52 para. 1 APA (consid., p. 3).
In accordance with the procedure provided by law, the Complaints Chamber correctly granted the appellant a deadline to rectify their filing, warning them of the consequences of inaction (consid., p. 2).
The appellant did not respond within the set deadline.
They neither maintained, substantiated, nor withdrew their appeal (consid., p. 3).
In the absence of rectification within the allotted time, and in accordance with the warning provided, the appeal must be declared inadmissible (consid., p. 3).
Outcome
The appeal is declared inadmissible (operative part 1).
Given the circumstances, and as an exceptional measure, the court waives the collection of procedural costs (operative part 2, consid., p. 3).