Switzerland Extradition Law — Case Law, Legal Framework and Procedure

Extradition cases involving Switzerland — Requested and Requesting State

🇨🇭

Switzerland

Switzerland Extradition Law & Case Law — 18 cases

1
As requested
state
17
As requesting
state
Case Law
Summary assessment of evidence in extradition proceedings under the European Convention on Extradition
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Summary
In extradition proceedings governed by the 1957 European Convention on Extradition, the Italian judicial authority, even where the applicable convention does not require a full assessment of serious indications of guilt, must carry out a summary assessment under Article 705 of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure. Such assessment cannot, however, amount to a detailed review of the evidentiary framework, since the requesting State is not required to transmit the evidence itself, but only sufficiently precise factual allegations and an indication of the evidentiary basis supporting the accusation within the requesting State’s procedural system.
28/04/2026 · Italian Supreme Court · 17735/2026
🇮🇹Italy → 🇨🇭Switzerland
Reversal and remandExtradition
Extradition requires a summary judicial assessment of the evidentiary basis supporting the request
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Summary
Switzerland requested the extradition of the requested person for prosecution in connection with three attacks on bank cash machines involving explosive material. The Italian Supreme Court held that, even where the applicable extradition convention does not expressly require the requested State to assess serious indications of guilt, the Italian judicial authority must not confine itself to a purely formal review of the documents but must conduct a summary assessment of whether the materials disclose evidence against the requested person. In the present case, the arrest warrant contained a detailed description of the alleged offences and identified several incriminating elements, including statements by a co-suspect and DNA traces connected with two of the incidents. The Court held that the defence objections sought an impermissible merits assessment of the evidence, rejected the appeal and upheld the favourable extradition decision.
28/04/2026 · Italian Supreme Court · 27099/2026
🇮🇹Italy → 🇨🇭Switzerland
GrantedExtradition
Extradition and assessment of circumstancial evidences (according to requesting State perspective)
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Summary
Where an applicable convention – such as the one between Italy and Switzerland – does not provide for an assessment by the requested State of the existence of serious indications of guilt, the Italian judicial authority must not limit itself to a merely formal review of the documentation attached to the extradition request. Rather, it must ascertain that such documentation sets out the reasons why, from the perspective of the requesting State’s procedural system, it was considered probable that the requested person committed the offence underlying the extradition request. Accordingly, in carrying out this review – unlike the regime provided for under Article 705(1) of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure – the requested State must neither independently assess this requirement nor critically re-evaluate the evidentiary material transmitted. In the present case, the Court of Appeal correctly adhered to the scope of review entrusted to it, highlighting the body of incriminating evidence (consisting of co-defendants’ statements, intercepted communications, and police investigations) on which the Swiss judicial authorities had based the provisional charge against the applicant. By contrast, the applicant sought to engage in an impermissible assessment of the probative value of individual items of evidence, effectively offering a direct – and moreover partial – reinterpretation of the evidentiary record.
06/10/2022 · Italian Supreme Court · 42574/2022
🇮🇹Italy → 🇨🇭Switzerland
GrantedExtradition
Country Contributor
Philippe Vladimir Boss
MLL Legal
Philippe Vladimir Boss’ practice focuses on investigations in criminal, internal and administrative matters, as well as the corresponding litigation, in financial, commercial, personal or reputational aspects of business. Clients range from financial institutions, commodity trading companies, SME in various sectors and private individuals, He also advises sport governing bodies in ethics, disciplinary or governance matters.
Philippe Boss’ expertise covers white-collar crime prosecution and defense, freezing of assets, asset tracing, international assistance in criminal, administrative and civil matters, assistance to plaintiffs, witnesses and targeted individuals in hearings, forensic searches, internal hearings, commercial litigation and arbitration, governance advice, ethics and disciplinary proceedings, enforcement of foreign awards, protection of media reputation and crisis management.
He is member of International Shooting Sport Federation Integrity Unit: Adjudicatory Board; Juge suppléant au Tribunal neutre du canton de Vaud; Chairman of the Independent Monitoring Group, International Weightlifting Federation (IWF); Arbitrator and mediator of the Sport Resolution’s International Panel; Chairman within the Arbitral Tribunal of the Self-regulatory Organisation of the Swiss Federation of Lawyers and the Swiss Federation of Notaries; Board member of the Tennis-Club Stade-Lausanne; Board member of the Vaud Bar Association (2022-2025).
Country Contributor
Loris Baumgartner
Wenger Vieli
Senior Associate at Wenger Vieli, Loris Baumgartner represents and advises individuals and companies in proceedings before judicial and regulatory authorities.
As a criminal defense attorney, he focuses particularly on representing parties before law enforcement agencies.
Loris Baumgartner also regularly advises clients on the preparation, execution, and follow-up of internal and regulatory investigations.
He is currently writing his doctoral dissertation in the field of corruption law.
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