International arrest warrant in Spain: the Audiencia Nacional
Spain concentrates all surrender proceedings — European Arrest Warrants and extradition alike — in the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid. Wherever in Spain the arrest happens, the case travels there. Spain is also among the most active enforcers of Interpol notices in Europe, which means an alert here is likely to produce an arrest rather than a query.
One court for the whole country
The practical consequences are immediate. A person arrested in Málaga, Palma or Alicante is transferred to Madrid, and the lawyer conducting the surrender proceedings has to be able to appear there. The local lawyer who handles the underlying criminal matter is often not the same one.
The upside is predictability: a single body of practice, a small number of judges, and a jurisprudence that is easier to anticipate than a dispersed system.
Spain arrests on alerts
This is the point that catches people planning travel. Spain, together with the United Arab Emirates, France and Germany, is among the jurisdictions that act on an Interpol Red Notice by detaining the person, before any formal request has been examined.
Anyone who believes an alert may exist should establish the position before entering the country rather than after. The route is in the guide on Red Notices, and being stopped at a border is dealt with in the guide on airport arrests.
The Spanish clock still applies
The arrest itself follows ordinary Spanish rules: a maximum of 72 hours before you are brought before a judge, and habeas corpus available immediately if that is exceeded. Bail exists, and in surrender proceedings conditional release with passport surrender and reporting is a realistic outcome where the case is not the most serious.
The framework is in the guide for Spain.
Where Italy is the other end
Spain executes a very large number of Italian warrants, and the recurring issue is the same one: convictions pronounced in the person's absence. The executing court will want to see either personal service or the availability of a retrial, and establishing which applies requires the Italian file.
That is the Italian side of the work, together with attacking the measure behind the warrant. The model is in the note for foreign law firms.
Frequently asked questions
Which court handles surrender in Spain?
The Audiencia Nacional in Madrid, for both European Arrest Warrants and extradition, wherever in Spain the arrest took place.
Will Spain arrest me on a Red Notice?
Spain is among the most active enforcers in Europe and generally detains on an alert, before any formal request has been examined.
Can I be released during the proceedings?
Bail exists in Spain, and conditional release with passport surrender and reporting is realistic where the case is not among the most serious.
What is argued against Italian warrants?
Most often the conviction in absence: the court wants personal service or the availability of a retrial, and that is established from the Italian file.
If an arrest has happened in Spain
The case will move to Madrid, and the Italian file has to be obtained in parallel. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege, at any hour.