Section 47
Unscheduled stopover during transport by air

(1) Where a competent agency in a foreign state has announced that it plans to have a foreign national transported by air through the area of application of this Act without a stopover for the purpose of extradition and that agency gives notification that the documentation as required under section 43 (3) sentence 1 no. 2 and sentence 2 has been received but an unscheduled stopover then becomes necessary, the announcement is treated as a request for transit.

(2) If the conditions of subsection (1) are met, the public prosecution office and police officers are authorised to make a provisional arrest.

(3) Persons pursued are to be brought before the judge at the nearest local court without delay, but no later than the day following their arrest. The judge at the local court hears persons pursued about their personal circumstances, in particular nationality. The judge must draw their attention to the right to avail themselves of the services of legal counsel (section 40) at any stage of the proceedings and to the fact that they are free to either make a statement or not make a statement regarding the offence of which they are accused. The judge then asks whether and, if so, for what reasons they wish to object to the transit or to their being detained.

(4) If it transpires in the course of the hearing that the person brought before the court is not the person designated in the announcement, the judge at the local court orders that person’s release. Otherwise, the judge at the local court orders that the person pursued is to be detained until the higher regional court gives its decision. Section 21 (4) sentence 2 and (7) applies accordingly.

(5) The warrant of arrest pending transit may be issued even before receipt of the documentation designated in section 43 (3) sentence 1 no. 2. It is to be disclosed to the person pursued without delay. The person pursued is given a copy.

(6) The warrant of arrest pending transit is to be lifted where the person pursued has spent a total of 45 days in detention pending transit, calculated from the day of provisional arrest, without the transit documentation having been received. Where a non-European state has announced the transport referred to in subsection (1), the time limit is two months.

(7) Following receipt of the documentation, the public prosecution office at the higher regional court applies for the person pursued to be heard by the judge at that local court in whose district the person pursued is located. Section 45 (5) sentences 2 to 4 applies accordingly. The public prosecution office at the higher regional court then applies for the higher regional court to give a decision as to whether the warrant of arrest pending transit is to be upheld.

(8) Transit may only be authorised if the higher regional court upholds the warrant of arrest pending transit.