INTERNATIONAL EXTRADITION · EUROPE
Extradition from Hungary to the United States.
Treaty between the United States of America and Hungary on Extradition controls the request. Article 3 says neither state is bound to extradite its own nationals, though the executive may do so unless domestic law prohibits it. The arrest clock and local review path decide what happens next.
THE SHORT ANSWER
In force. The treaty signed December 1, 1994 entered into force March 18, 1997 and is modified by a U.S.-EU protocol effective February 1, 2010. No official average was found. Adrian Baron was extradited in July 2018, but the official release does not provide arrest-to-surrender dates.
Treaty between the United States of America and Hungary on Extradition
Effective: 1997-03-18
WHAT COUNSEL CHECKS FIRST
The active paper. The country. The clock.
THE RESPONSE ROOM
What has to be established first.
FIRST HOURS
Identify the legal basis for custody
Record the arresting authority, court, case number, custody location, interpreter need, and any hearing date. Ask for counsel before discussing the foreign accusation.
WHO DECIDES
The local record controls
The Ministry of Justice coordinates the request. The designated Budapest court examines detention and legal conditions under the international criminal-assistance statute and treaty. The Minister of Justice performs the executive decision/authorization role where domestic law assigns it.
THE CLOCK
Deadlines are event-specific
Article 11 permits diplomatic transmission, direct U.S. DOJ-Hungarian Ministry of Justice contact, or Interpol. The request states identity/location, facts, law, warrant/conviction and that a formal request will follow. Release may occur after 60 days without the formal package; later re-arrest is allowed. No official average was found. Adrian Baron was extradited in July 2018, but the official release does not provide arrest-to-surrender dates.
DOCUMENT AUDIT
Build the file before the argument
Preserve the notice or warrant, charging papers, identity records, release terms, travel documents, medical records, and every dated communication. Do not alter or delete evidence.
FOR FAMILIES COORDINATING ACROSS BORDERS
Confirm the exact legal name, detention location, medication needs, next hearing, local lawyer, and one reliable contact channel. A consulate may assist with welfare and contact; it cannot cancel the local case.
02 · THE PROCESS
How the Hungary process moves.
Judicial and executive stages
The Ministry of Justice coordinates the request. The designated Budapest court examines detention and legal conditions under the international criminal-assistance statute and treaty. The Minister of Justice performs the executive decision/authorization role where domestic law assigns it.
Appeal and review
Court detention and extradition rulings have statutory review routes; constitutional review may be available after ordinary remedies. The exact route depends on the type of order.
03 · DEFENSES
The request still has to survive the record.
ISSUE
Treaty coverage
The charged conduct, punishment threshold, documents, and identity must fit the controlling treaty and local implementing law.
ISSUE
Dual criminality
An offense must be punishable in both states by more than one year. Categories and terminology need not match; U.S. federal jurisdictional elements are disregarded.
ISSUE
Political and protected offenses
Political offenses and politically motivated requests are barred; murder, kidnapping, serious violence, explosives and treaty crimes are excluded. Pure military offenses may be refused. The U.S.-EU protocol prevents categorical refusal merely because tax/customs rules differ. Final Hungarian disposition, requesting-state limitations, capital punishment and human-rights rules apply.
ISSUE
Evidence and process
The request can be tested against the treaty standard, authentication requirements, limitation rules, and procedural guarantees that apply locally.
ISSUE
Human rights and punishment
Article 7 lets Hungary refuse unless the United States assures death will not be imposed or, if imposed, will not be carried out; accepted assurances bind the United States. ECHR/CAT and EU fundamental-rights protections also apply.
ISSUE
Specialty and assurances
Article 17 limits detention, trial and punishment to approved or same-facts qualifying/lesser offenses, post-extradition offenses, or offenses Hungary later consents to. Onward extradition needs consent, subject to safe-departure exceptions.
04 · PUBLIC EXAMPLES
Recent public extradition records.
These examples come from public government records and are not presented as Spodek Law Group matters or results.
Adrian Baron
Conspiracy to defraud the United States by failing to comply with FATCA
Mariyana Feliksova Lozanova
Wire-fraud and money-laundering conspiracies in an online-sales scheme
05 · THE CHARGES
What appears in the requests.
A Red Notice is not the extradition order.
A Red Notice asks police worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person, subject to each country's law. It is not an international arrest warrant, and it does not replace the treaty papers or the local extradition case.
The notice, the provisional-arrest request, and the surrender proceeding are separate records. Each can carry different defects, deadlines, and remedies.
07 · THIRD-COUNTRY RISK
Transit can expose a person to another country's arrest rules, immigration powers, or provisional request. This page gives no route or evasion advice. Review the actual warrant, notice, release conditions, and jurisdictions with counsel before travel.
08 · QUESTIONS
What families and targets ask first.
IMMEDIATE EXTRADITION QUESTIONS
No. A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest, not an international arrest warrant or a finding of extraditability. Hungary's arrest law, the treaty record, and the local surrender process still control.
AUTHORITIESwww.interpol.int
It can. Border screening may expose a national warrant, INTERPOL data, immigration authority, or a provisional request under another country's law. This is not travel or evasion advice; the actual records and jurisdictions require review before travel.
AUTHORITIESwww.interpol.int
Release depends on Hungary's current law, the arrest authority, flight-risk findings, and the stage of the request. No general website answer can predict it. Local counsel should address custody while U.S. counsel verifies the federal matter and request.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
Not automatically. Extradition, asylum, immigration removal, and non-refoulement are separate legal systems that may interact. The forum, protected status, alleged conduct, treaty, and current human-rights evidence determine which arguments are available.
AUTHORITIESwww.justice.gov
COUNTRY PROCEDURE
Yes, under the 1994 treaty as amended in 2010.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
The treaty makes surrender discretionary and subject to Hungarian domestic restrictions; residence and nationality details matter.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
On request, Hungary must submit the case to its authorities for prosecution.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
Yes, with a more-than-one-year threshold.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
Yes, Article 11 expressly allows it.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
60 days from provisional arrest.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
Yes; Article 7 expressly provides for them.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
Yes; unrelated pre-surrender charges need Hungary's consent unless an exception applies.
AUTHORITIESwww.state.gov
09 · RESEARCH LIMITS
What the public record does not settle.
10 · SOURCES
Every material claim should have a file behind it.
11 · REGIONAL INDEX
Related country files.
WHO REVIEWS THE FIRST CALL
Start with the paper, the posture, and the first deadline.
Todd A. Spodek leads the firm's federal defense work. The team identifies the active U.S. matter, the country and custody posture, and where appropriately licensed local counsel is required. No webpage can replace review of the actual request.
Todd Spodek - biography and record →SECURE CONSULTATION REQUEST
Put the actual extradition record in front of counsel.
Tell us whether this is an inquiry, Red Notice, detention, hearing, or appeal. The intake team will identify conflicts and the right next step. Urgent custody and hearing matters should call.
212 300 5196 - urgent matters →