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German
Criminal Law


Arrest warrant in Germany

The main reason for an arrest warrant in Germany is the risk of a suspect escaping. This risk can be assumed as a ground for detaining suspect person in custody, if a person in consideration has no links to the German in-country, or when the suspect shows links to the countries abroad.

The other reason for issuing an arrest warrant is the severity of a felony, that one is being accused of. If for a specific felony one can expect a sentence of more than two years, which under the German criminal law at the same time cannot be suspended (probation only in case of sentences of up to two years), then the court issuing the arrest warrant can consider it as an aspect indicating the escape risk.

One way to avoid an arrest warrant is a links to the place of residence. These are for example active family links professional links, or economic links to the place of residence. On the other side, such links to countries abroad indicate the escape risk.

An arrest warrant can be issued in German criminal law, only if a possibility of committing a felony resulting from an actual evidence material is high enough. If the responsible court issues an arrest warrant, then it has to be taken into consideration, that the evidence found by the authorities is strongly incriminating the suspect. Convincing the court of the opposite is in such case very hard, concentrating on the minimalizing the sentence can be a proper strategy.