International Criminal Lawyer | Cross-Border Defense

In short: An international criminal lawyer defends you when a case crosses borders — an extradition request, an Interpol Red Notice, a foreign investigation, or a mutual legal assistance request. Our team coordinates defense across jurisdictions, in the United States and abroad, on one strategy. If you face a cross-border matter, act early: +357 96 447475.

When a criminal matter reaches across borders, one lawyer in one country is rarely enough. Requests move between prosecutors, courts, foreign ministries and Interpol, and a decision in one jurisdiction shapes what happens in the next. Our international criminal defense team works these cases as a single file — coordinating strategy in the US and abroad so nothing falls between the gaps.

Speak with an international criminal lawyer — confidential. Call, WhatsApp or Telegram +357 96 447475, or request a confidential case review.

What is international criminal law?

International criminal law governs criminal matters that cross national borders — how one state seeks a person located in another, how evidence is shared, and how policing bodies like Interpol circulate alerts. It covers extradition, Interpol Red Notices, mutual legal assistance, and cross-border investigations, each with its own rules, forums and deadlines.

For someone facing such a case, four mechanisms matter most:

1. Extradition — one country formally asks another to surrender a person for prosecution or to serve a sentence, usually under a bilateral treaty and, in the US, under 18 U.S.C. §3181 and following.
2. Interpol Red Notices — a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person, circulated to 190+ member countries; governed by the Interpol Constitution and the Rules on the Processing of Data (RPD).
3. Mutual legal assistance (MLA) — states share evidence, records and testimony through treaties (MLATs), often routed via the US Department of Justice Office of International Affairs (OIA).
4. Cross-border investigations — parallel inquiries by prosecutors in several countries, sometimes coordinated, sometimes competing.

Key fact: Under Article 3 of its Constitution, Interpol is forbidden from any intervention in matters of a political, military, religious or racial character — a core ground for challenging an abusive Red Notice.

Because these mechanisms interlock, a defense that treats them separately can miss decisive moves. A Red Notice can trigger a provisional arrest before any formal extradition request exists; an MLAT request can build the very case a foreign prosecutor later uses to seek surrender.

How we defend international criminal cases

We defend international cases by mapping every jurisdiction involved, identifying where the decisive decision will be made, and building one coordinated strategy rather than several disconnected local efforts. The goal is to reach the strongest available forum — a court, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF), or an executive authority — before positions harden.

Our approach typically covers:

• Jurisdictional mapping — which countries have or claim a stake, and which treaty or legal framework governs each.
• Risk assessment — where provisional arrest is most likely, and how travel or residence affects exposure.
• Forum strategy — choosing where and when to litigate, from a US extradition hearing to a CCF filing in Lyon.
• Local counsel coordination — instructing and directing trusted lawyers in each relevant country under one plan.
• Evidence and human-rights arguments — dual criminality, the rule of specialty, the political offense exception, and fair-trial and abuse concerns under the European Convention on Human Rights and Interpol’s own rules.

Speak with an international criminal lawyer — confidential. Call or message +357 96 447475, or request a confidential case review.

Extradition and surrender proceedings

Extradition is a formal, court-supervised process, and it is usually the sharpest point of a cross-border case. In the United States, a request proceeds under 18 U.S.C. §3184: a judge holds a hearing to decide whether the treaty applies and whether there is probable cause, after which the Secretary of State makes the final surrender decision under §3186. Habeas corpus review is available in narrow circumstances.

Direction matters, and each has its own defenses and timeline:

• Extradition to the United States — when the US seeks a person abroad. Defenses often turn on the treaty terms, dual criminality, and conditions in the requested country. See our detailed guidance on defending a US extradition request.
• Extradition from the United States — when a foreign state seeks someone located in the US, litigated before a US judge under §3184. Read how we approach contesting extradition out of the US.

Our extradition defense practice covers both directions, plus the doctrines — political offense exception, rule of specialty, and dual criminality — that frequently decide these cases.

Key fact: A treaty does not guarantee surrender. Some treaty partners have declined US requests, and many states refuse to extradite their own nationals as a matter of constitutional law. Verify current status against the US State Department’s “Treaties in Force.” (updated 2026)

Interpol Red Notices and data challenges

An Interpol Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition — not an international arrest warrant, but a powerful alert that can freeze travel, banking and residence across 190+ countries. It can also be challenged. The independent Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF), through its Requests Chamber, reviews complaints that a notice breaches Interpol’s rules.

Grounds to challenge or remove a Red Notice include:

• Political, military, religious or racial character — barred under Article 3 of the Interpol Constitution.
• Human-rights concerns — Article 2 requires compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Data-quality failures — vague, unfounded or outdated information under the Rules on the Processing of Data.
• Predominant political motivation or lack of a genuine judicial basis.

If you are affected by an alert, our Interpol Red Notice defense guidance explains the CCF process, evidence, and how a data challenge fits within a wider cross-border strategy.

Cross-border investigations and mutual legal assistance (MLAT)

Mutual legal assistance is how countries gather evidence from each other — bank records, witness statements, search results — usually under a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) and, for the US, through the DOJ Office of International Affairs (OIA). For a defendant, MLA activity is an early warning sign: it means a foreign prosecutor is building a case that may later support a Red Notice or an extradition request.

In cross-border investigations we work to:

• Detect exposure early — reading MLAT requests, subpoenas and account freezes as signals of what is coming.
• Protect procedural rights — testing whether evidence was obtained lawfully and whether it can be used.
• Coordinate across forums — aligning the US, EU and other proceedings so admissions or filings in one place do not damage another.
• Engage before charges harden — sometimes resolving or narrowing a matter through the OIA or foreign authorities before a public request issues.

Why an international team matters

Cross-border defense works best when one team already speaks the languages, laws and forums involved — rather than assembling strangers under deadline pressure. Our lawyers practice across common-law and civil-law systems and appear before national courts, Interpol’s CCF, and human-rights bodies, so the strategy is unified from day one.

Our practice, operating as Intercollegium Law Firm, brings together partners and associates with focused experience in extradition, Interpol and international criminal law. This page’s author, Marcin Ajs, is an Associate Partner and Advocate, a member of the European Criminal Bar Association, and has handled European Arrest Warrant, Interpol Red Notice and extradition matters since 2014. We serve clients in the United States and worldwide; we do not maintain a US office and coordinate US proceedings with vetted local counsel.

Key fact: The earlier an international criminal lawyer is engaged, the more options remain — a provisional arrest can precede any formal request, and once it occurs, timelines compress sharply.

Speak with an international criminal lawyer — confidential. Call, WhatsApp, Viber or Telegram +357 96 447475, email [email protected], or request a confidential case review.

Frequently asked questions

What does an international criminal lawyer do?

An international criminal lawyer defends people in cases that cross borders — extradition requests, Interpol Red Notices, foreign investigations, and mutual legal assistance. They coordinate strategy across jurisdictions so decisions in one country do not undermine your position in another.

How is international criminal defense different from a domestic case?

A domestic case runs in one court under one legal system. International criminal defense involves several jurisdictions at once — different treaties, forums and deadlines — plus bodies like Interpol and executive authorities that a national court does not control. Coordination across all of them is the core of the work.

Can you help if I am not a US citizen?

Yes. We serve clients worldwide, whatever their nationality, in matters connected to the United States or to other countries. Nationality is often central to strategy, because many states refuse to extradite their own nationals as a matter of constitutional law.

Do I need a lawyer before an arrest happens?

Ideally, yes. A provisional arrest can precede any formal extradition request, and an Interpol Red Notice can restrict travel and banking before charges are public. Engaging counsel early preserves the most options, including a challenge before the CCF or the relevant court.

Can an Interpol Red Notice be removed?

It can be challenged. The Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files reviews complaints that a notice breaches Interpol’s rules — for example, that it is political in character under Article 3 or based on poor-quality data. A successful challenge can lead to the data being deleted.

Where are you based, and can you act on US extradition?

Our team operates from Cyprus and the United Kingdom and serves the United States and worldwide. We do not have a US office; we coordinate US extradition proceedings under §3184 with vetted US local counsel while leading the cross-border strategy.