Arrested in Madrid: the capital and the Audiencia Nacional
Madrid is where every surrender case in Spain ends up. The Audiencia Nacional decides all European Arrest Warrants and all extradition requests for the whole country, so a person arrested anywhere in Spain on a warrant is transferred here. The lawyer conducting those proceedings must appear in the capital, and that is frequently a different lawyer from the one handling the underlying case.
Alongside surrender runs the ordinary caseload of a capital city: the airport, nightlife, theft accusations, financial and corporate proceedings, and public order around frequent demonstrations. Spain is among the countries that act on an international alert by arresting rather than by enquiring first, and Madrid is where the consequences are then decided. Anyone who believes an alert may exist should establish the position before travelling rather than at a border desk.
Avv. Massimo Romano — Ordine degli Avvocati di Napoli n. 14553, patrocinante in Cassazione dal 23/10/2015 — Roma, Via Avicenna 97, 00146 · Milano, Via Giuseppe Pecchio 3, 20129 · Napoli, Corso Umberto I 237, 80138 — +39 335 669 3954
In brief
- Surrender proceedings for the whole country are heard in the capital, so an arrest anywhere in Spain on a warrant leads to a transfer here and a hearing before the national court.
- The lawyer who conducts a surrender hearing must appear in Madrid, which usually means instructing someone in addition to whoever handles the case in the country that issued the warrant.
- Spain generally detains on an international alert before any formal request has been examined, which makes the alert itself, rather than the underlying case, the immediate problem.
- Establishing whether an alert exists before travelling is the practical step, because discovering it at a border desk removes every option that depends on preparation.
- The airport is among the busiest in Europe and produces customs cases, luggage cases and arrests on alerts relating to other countries, including of passengers in transit.
- Nightlife in the central districts generates fights and complaints filed by each party against the other, which turns those files into questions of sequence.
- Theft accusations around the main squares and on the metro frequently rest on an identification made by a witness, so the circumstances of that identification are examined closely.
- Financial and corporate proceedings concentrate here because of the headquarters in the city and the national jurisdiction over major economic cases.
- Spanish procedure counts police detention continuously from the moment of arrest, and the judge then releases the person, releases them on conditions with or without a deposit, or orders custody.
What actually happens here
- Surrender proceedings. The Audiencia Nacional hears them all, which means the lawyer conducting them must appear in Madrid — often a different lawyer from the one handling the underlying case. The position is in the guide on arrest warrants in Spain.
- Barajas airport, one of the busiest in Europe: customs, luggage, and arrests on alerts relating to other countries, including in transit.
- Nightlife in Malasaña, Chueca and La Latina: fights, and complaints filed by both parties.
- Theft accusations around Sol, Gran Vía and on the metro, frequently resting on a single identification.
- Financial and corporate proceedings, given the concentration of headquarters and the national jurisdiction over major economic cases.
- Public order around demonstrations, which in the capital are frequent.
Spain is among the countries that act on an Interpol alert by arresting rather than enquiring, and Madrid is where the consequences are then decided. Anyone who believes an alert may exist should establish the position before travelling, as set out in the guide on Red Notices.
The Spanish clock, in short
Police detention in Madrid cannot exceed 72 hours, counted continuously from the moment of the arrest, and there is no extension outside terrorism cases. The judge then releases you, releases you on conditions with or without bail, or orders pre-trial custody. The full framework is in the guide for Spain.
A surrender case and an ordinary criminal case in Spain are different proceedings with different questions. The table compares them.
| Aspect | Surrender proceeding | Ordinary Spanish case |
|---|---|---|
| What the court decides | Whether the person is handed to the requesting country. | Whether the allegation made in Spain is established. |
| Where it is heard | Before the national court in the capital. | In the courts of the district where the facts occurred. |
| What is argued | Grounds for refusal, conditions and guarantees sought. | The facts, attribution and the measure applied. |
| Who must appear | A lawyer able to act in Madrid. | A lawyer in the district concerned. |
| Relationship to the other case | The foreign proceeding continues in parallel. | It stands on its own, unless an alert follows. |
Frequently asked questions
Why would my case move to Madrid?
Because the Audiencia Nacional decides every European Arrest Warrant and extradition request in Spain, wherever the arrest happened.
Will Spain arrest me on a Red Notice?
Spain is among the most active enforcers in Europe and generally detains on an alert, before any formal request has been examined.
How long can they hold me?
Seventy-two hours at most, counted continuously, with habeas corpus available immediately if that is exceeded.
Is bail available?
Yes. The investigating judge may release you conditionally against a deposit, usually with passport surrender and reporting.
If this is happening now
With a name and the place of the arrest in Madrid, the position can be established quickly. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege, at any hour.
A capital, a surrender hearing and a lawyer who is not yours yet
Madrid combines the ordinary caseload of a very large city with something no other Spanish city offers: it is where every surrender case ends up. Your daily life depends on which you are in.
If you were arrested on a European Arrest Warrant or an extradition request anywhere in Spain, you will be moved here. That means being taken away from the city where you were arrested, from the lawyer who may already have met you, and from family who may have travelled. The proceedings are heard in Madrid, and the lawyer conducting them must appear there. This is often a different lawyer from the one handling the underlying case, and finding them quickly is a priority.
While the surrender case runs, the practical effects are heavy. Work stops, a home abroad may be left unattended, and children and partners must be looked after. If you live elsewhere in Europe, an employer there will ask for an explanation. If you hold a business role, banks and clients may begin to ask questions.
For people stopped at the airport, which is among the busiest in Europe, customs, luggage and alerts relating to other countries are the common causes. Those in transit are caught too. A traveller who has been held may miss connecting flights and hotel bookings, and the cost of delay mounts.
The capital also has ordinary night-time cases: fights, drugs at the low end and public order matters. Those follow the pattern familiar from any large city, with complaints on both sides and the evidence, such as camera footage, that decides them.
An international alert behaves differently depending on when it is discovered. The table sets out the positions.
| Moment of discovery | What can still be done | What has been lost |
|---|---|---|
| Before any travel | The position is checked and challenges prepared calmly. | Nothing. |
| Before a specific journey | The journey is reconsidered and documents assembled. | Time, but not options. |
| At the border desk | A lawyer is instructed and the hearing prepared quickly. | The chance to arrive with the file already in hand. |
| After detention and transfer | The grounds for refusal and conditions are argued. | Liberty in the meantime, and any choice about timing. |
| During a transit stop | Identity and the scope of the alert are addressed. | The onward journey and whatever depended on it. |
Papers to assemble for a surrender case or an airport stop
- Passport and residence documents, with photographs of every page, showing where you live.
- Any document served on you, such as the warrant or the request, with the date and the officer's name.
- The name and number of the lawyer who has already seen you, if any, and any record of what was discussed.
- Family and household details: dependants, home, work, which matter to any argument about release.
- Proof of ties to where you live: tenancy or ownership papers, employment contract, school records for children.
- Papers about the underlying case in the other country: summonses, judgments, correspondence.
- Travel documents and bookings, if you were arrested in transit.
- Proof of the origin of any cash found on you.
- Medical records and a list of medication, which can affect conditions in custody.
What to decide before you are moved to Madrid
A surrender case offers a few choices early on, and the options narrow quickly.
Consent to surrender, or oppose it. Consenting may be quicker, and the process may end sooner. It also gives up the chance to raise the objections the law allows, and it may be hard to reverse. Opposing keeps those objections alive but prolongs the proceedings, and the time may be spent in custody. Do not decide without advice from a lawyer who has seen the warrant and the underlying case.
Keep the lawyer you have, or add a specialist in Madrid. The lawyer who first saw you may be local to where you were arrested and unable to appear in the national court. Adding a Madrid lawyer costs money, but the surrender hearing needs one who can be present.
Make a statement about the underlying case, or confine yourself to the warrant. The surrender hearing is not a trial, and what you say about the underlying facts can be used elsewhere. Speak only to what the lawyer advises.
Ask for release, or not. A request for release depends on ties and on the risk that you will not appear. It needs documents ready, and that is why the folder above matters.
What not to do on the way to the capital
- Do not make statements about the underlying case to officers, guards or other detainees. They can reach the requesting country.
- Do not sign consent to surrender without a lawyer present and without understanding what it gives up.
- Do not assume the first lawyer you met will appear in Madrid. Ask who will.
- Do not post or message about it. Authorities in both countries read social media.
- Do not discuss it with other detainees. Conversations in custody are not private.
- Do not ignore an alert in the hope that it has expired. Check it.
- Do not delete messages or records. Deletion is visible and often reversible.
A surrender hearing is won or lost on material that has to be gathered in advance. The table lists it.
| Document | Where it comes from | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| The warrant or request itself | The court file in Spain | Identifying the conduct alleged and the grounds available. |
| Decisions in the foreign proceeding | The lawyer in the requesting country | Showing what has already been decided there. |
| Proof of identity and nationality | Official registers and consulates | Addressing mistaken identity and the person's status. |
| Residence and employment records | Local registers and employers | Supporting conditional release while the case is heard. |
| Medical documents where relevant | Treating physicians | Supporting arguments about conditions of detention. |
| Translations of the key documents | Sworn translators | Making foreign material usable before the court here. |
Questions for a lawyer when the national court is involved
- Which warrant or request is this, and from which country?
- Can I consent, and what would I give up if I did?
- What objections can be raised, and which apply to my case?
- Who will appear for me in Madrid, and who handles the underlying case?
- What are the deadlines the law sets at each stage, and who meets them?
- Can I ask for release while the case is pending, and what must I show?
- What happens to the underlying case in the other country while this runs?
- If I am surrendered, who defends me there, and how do the two lawyers coordinate?
- What will it cost, and how is the work divided with the firm?
How the firm works on surrender and extradition cases
Contact the firm by phone or by email to avvmassimoromano@gmail.com, as the person arrested or as a relative. The opening call asks which document has been served on you, which country issued it, whether you have seen a lawyer and where you are held. Those facts determine how urgent the next step is.
The firm does not appear as counsel in the Spanish national court. It works with a locally admitted lawyer who can appear in Madrid, and it coordinates the work on both sides: the surrender hearing here and the underlying case in the issuing country. Surrender cases involve at least two countries, and the firm works with correspondent lawyers in each. Its Italian side includes communication with the family and the coordination of documents, and, where the warrant or the case has an Italian dimension, direct handling of it. The guide on arrest warrants in Spain sets out the position.
Work is in English and Italian, and interpreters for Spanish hearings are arranged through the local lawyer. The firm is reachable outside office hours, which matters for people arrested at night or at weekends. Documents can be sent as photographs or scans.
A written note follows the first contact, setting out who acts for whom and what is needed next.
Words in a warrant, an extradition request and an airport file
European Arrest Warrant (EAW). A court request from one European country to another that a named person be handed over to be prosecuted or to serve a sentence.
Extradition. The older route to the same end, used for countries outside the European arrangements, often with a diplomatic channel.
Surrender proceedings. The hearing at which the Spanish court decides whether to hand a person over. It is not a trial of the underlying case.
Red Notice. An international alert asking police to locate and hold a person, which Spain acts on by arresting.
Customs and luggage case. A matter arising from what was found in bags or on a person at the airport, including cash that was not declared.
Alert relating to another country. A request from a foreign authority that leads to an arrest here, including of people merely in transit.
About the lawyer
Criminal defence is the whole of this practice. Avv. Massimo Romano is enrolled with the Ordine degli Avvocati di Napoli and pleads before the Court of Cassation; the work that reaches him concerns Italian criminal procedure, extradition, European arrest warrants, and cases where an Italian citizen is held by a foreign authority. He takes instructions directly. The first contact is short and factual: what the charge is said to be, where the person is, what has already been signed or handed over. Nothing is promised at that stage, because the file has usually not been read. What follows the call is practical, a list of documents to collect, contact with the authority or with local counsel abroad, and a plan for the next hearing or request. Where relatives do not speak Italian, the conversation continues in their own language, and written updates are sent in that language as well, so nobody relies on second-hand translation.
Ring the office directly, or write on WhatsApp if calling is difficult. Keep beside you the summons or the record of the search, and the name of any lawyer already acting.
Avv. Massimo Romano — criminal defence lawyer, admitted to the Italian Court of Cassation
Iscritto all'Ordine degli Avvocati di Napoli n. 14553 | Patrocinante in Cassazione dal 23/10/2015
Roma, Via Avicenna 97, 00146 · Milano, Via Giuseppe Pecchio 3, 20129 · Napoli, Corso Umberto I 237, 80138
+39 335 669 3954 · WhatsApp