Extradition from Poland to Switzerland
One of the countries that regularly submits extradition requests to Poland is the Swiss Confederation—a country that is universally associated with safety, economic development, and a high standard of living. What is the current state of Polish-Swiss extradition cooperation?
Legal basis for cooperation
The cooperation between Polish and Swiss law enforcement authorities in the area of extradition is conducted under the European Convention on Extradition, a multilateral international treaty ratified by Poland. It is one of the fundamental legal instruments governing extradition.
The convention provides for a number of situations in which is it not possible to extradite a given person. These include for example political or military offences. The grounds for refusal also include the possibility of imposition of the death penalty in the requesting state, or when prosecution or punishment has become time-barred according to the law of either of the states.
The convention also addresses the rules for a state’s extradition of its own citizens. Either state has a right to refuse extradition of its own nationals. But in that case (upon application of the requesting state), the requested state shall submit the case to its own competent authorities for initiation of criminal proceedings.
Who is being extradited, and for what offences?
In 2025 law enforcement authorities in Switzerland submitted three extradition requests to the Polish authorities, both for purposes of conducting criminal proceedings and for carrying out of a sentence.
The crimes for which extradition was sought included such offences as fraud, smuggling, money laundering, organised crime, forgery, armed robbery, and theft with burglary. The extradition requests did not involve Swiss citizens, but citizens of third countries (Ukraine, Lithuania and Georgia).
In these cases the Polish courts found that there were no grounds that would make extradition inadmissible. The persons sought did not hold Polish citizenship, nor had they claimed a right to asylum. The offences alleged against them were strictly criminal in nature, and were not connected to political persecution. The courts also pointed out that Swiss law does not provide for capital punishment.
Presumption of good faith on the part of the Swiss authorities
In the decided cases, the Polish courts agreed that there was an adequate level of protection of the right to a fair trial in Switzerland (Warsaw Regional Court decision of 19 August 2025, VIII Kop 204/25) as well as human rights protections. As they found, “The Swiss Confederation is a democracy fully respecting human rights and freedoms” (Warsaw Court of Appeal decision of 23 September 2025, II AKz 1044/25). In this respect, the courts relied on reports by international organisations, and stressed that they were unaware of any publications indicating negative aspects of the functioning of the Swiss justice system (Warsaw Regional Court decision of 19 August 2025, VIII Kop 204/25). Finally, they observed that in the case of Swiss extradition requests, Poland fully respects the presumption of the good faith of the extraditing state as well as the principle of reciprocity (Suwałki Regional Court decision of 28 November 2025, II Kop 57/25).
In short, due to the legal culture, respect for human rights, and high standards of the Swiss judicial system, the Polish courts treat the law enforcement authorities in Switzerland as a reliable partner in extradition matters. This has led them to find that extradition of the persons sought by Switzerland is legally admissible.
It should only be noted that the aspect of issuance of orders on provisional arrest did arise in the Swiss cases. In the Swiss legal system, this lies within the authority of the prosecutor, not the court. However, in this respect the Warsaw Court of Appeal pointed out (in the decision of 23 September 2025, II AKz 1044/25) that the European Convention on Extradition does not require that such an order be issued by a judge. Rather, as the court stressed, this issue is governed by the internal law of the given country. An additional argument was that it was clear from the documents gathered in the case that following extradition, the person sought was to be immediately handed over to the court for a ruling on maintaining the person’s arrest.
Dr Artur Pietryka, adwokat, Kamil Łuba, Business Crime practice, Wardyński & Partners
