The case concerned an Albanian request for execution extradition based on a final one-year prison sentence for escape and possession and manufacture of false identification documents. The requested person challenged the decision granting extradition, arguing that he had already fully served the sentence in Italy through extradition custody and that the Albanian authorities had themselves indicated that they no longer had an interest in surrender. The Italian Supreme Court upheld the appeal. It held that, where the sentence for which extradition is sought has already been entirely served in Italy through precautionary custody in the extradition proceedings, surrender for execution is barred, since crediting pre-surrender detention against the sentence is a fundamental principle of the Italian legal order and a fundamental right of the person. The Court therefore annulled the surrender decision without remand, declared the existing precautionary measure terminated, and ordered the requested person’s release unless detained on other grounds.

The requested person challenged the refusal to revoke pre-extradition detention or replace it with house arrest in proceedings concerning an Albanian extradition request based on a conviction for bodily injury. The Court of Appeal had relied mainly on the requested person’s lack of employment, limited command of Italian, recent arrival and weak social integration in Italy. The Supreme Court of Cassation quashed the order, holding that flight risk must be supported by specific, concrete and symptomatic elements showing a genuine propensity and real possibility of clandestine departure. Considerations relating merely to the degree of social integration in the requested State are not sufficient unless connected to a predictive assessment based on the requested person’s conduct.