A Red Notice and an Extradition Request Are Not the Same Thing
A red notice is not an extradition request. It is a request circulated to member countries asking them to locate a person and provisionally arrest them pending a formal extradition request from the country that asked for the notice. The two run on separate tracks: the notice is decided by INTERPOL’s own rules, the extradition by a national court applying national law and whatever treaty exists.
Two decisions, two forums
| The alert | The extradition | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides | The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files, on a written record | A court in the country holding the person, under its own law |
| What is in issue | Whether the data complies with the Organization’s own rules | Whether the person may lawfully be surrendered to the requesting state |
| Effect of success | The data is deleted from INTERPOL’s files | Surrender is refused; the person is released from that process |
| Effect on the other | Deletion does not end national proceedings already under way | A refusal to extradite does not of itself delete the data |
| Who acts | We do, from the access request to the decision | Counsel admitted in that country, whom we instruct and work alongside |
Why the order matters
The alert is usually what triggers everything else: the border stop, the detention, the request that follows. Removing it does not undo an extradition request already made, but it removes the mechanism that produces the next arrest in the next country. That is why the two are worked in parallel rather than in sequence — how a removal application is run.
The treaty question
Whether a treaty exists between the two countries changes the extradition track, not the alert. The absence of a treaty is not a safe harbour either: states extradite on the basis of reciprocity, under regional instruments, and through deportation and immigration powers that reach the same result by another route. What the position actually is in each jurisdiction is set out country by country — countries without an extradition treaty, and what that does and does not mean.
What we act on and what we do not
- We act
- On the international record — what INTERPOL holds and whether its rules allow it to be held.
- We instruct
- Counsel admitted locally where a detention hearing or an extradition request is live.
- We do not
- Appear in national extradition proceedings ourselves.
- We do not
- Represent requesting states, in either forum.
The alert and the extradition are not the same fight
Tell us which country the case comes from and which country you are in now. Those two facts decide what can be done first.
Request a free case assessmentFrequently asked
Does a red notice mean I will be extradited?
No. It asks member countries to locate and provisionally arrest. Whether surrender follows is decided by a court in the country holding you, under its own law.
If the red notice is deleted, does the extradition request fall away?
Not automatically. Deletion binds INTERPOL, not the requesting country. A request already made continues to be decided nationally.
Can I be extradited where there is no treaty?
It is possible. States also act on reciprocity, under regional instruments, and through immigration and deportation powers.
Should I challenge the notice or the extradition first?
Usually both, in parallel. They are decided in different forums on different questions, and neither waits for the other.
Do you appear in extradition hearings?
No. We run the INTERPOL side and instruct counsel admitted in the relevant country for the national proceedings.