Why Lawyers’ Assistance Is Crucial in Interpol Searches

Dmytro Konovalenko – lawyer for Interpol channels’ individuals search cases, senior partner in Interpol Law Firms

The sphere of international search and extradition has always been up-to-date on the legal services market. 2020 is not an exception and was marked by the growth of a narrow-profile Interpol expertise demand. 

This challenging but filled with events year is coming to an end, that is why it’s time to talk about relevant peculiarities of the given practice, its results, and its tendencies. 

First, it is important to note that the lawyer activity in the field of extradition and Interpol search is specific and different from a traditional law activity in a criminal process. 

This is quite a difficult type of activity, which can be held simultaneously within different jurisdictions. 

Anyway, the extradition cases are of interest among all the interpol lawyers because this is a unique opportunity to work with the law of different countries at the same time. 

Law firms that can use comparative criminal law in the right way in the realities of Ukrainian legal proceedings are especially valuable in the legal services market. Thus, the presence of such expertise in these cases is notably relevant in the expiring year. 

Lawyers that work with every specific case need to balance criminal legislation and international law. 

Certainly, this requires not only special skills but the ability of an actual specialist to ably analyze each case and adapt to the changes. The search for effective solutions for clients and their implementation depend directly on it. 

Peculiarities of Working with Interpol 

First of all, the work with cases concerning international search requires constant communication with the General Secretariat of Interpol and the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF). 

The changes in the modern world create a particular specificity of these international organizations’ activities. Thus, lawyers need to keep a finger on the pulse while analyzing all relevant issues and creating up-to-date approaches to client protection implementation. 

The lawyer needs not only to pay attention to the microclimate in the above-mentioned organizations but to constantly analyze the relations between countries which are involved in the extradition procedure. 

The proper analysis of these details is just a part of building an effective strategy to protect the client. But, this is a small part of the process, because the understanding of the atmosphere between countries will not give one the maximum knowledge of the international law system. 

In this question, the help of international colleagues who are experienced in Interpol extradition cases management is irreplaceable. 

Considering the above-mentioned moments will help a lawyer include the preventive methods to the case, which can help avoid placing the client in the international search or even his detention. But, to implement such a strategy, the client should ask for help before certain decisions from Interpol’s side. 

In most cases, lawyers need to work with existing search decisions, that’s why they need to understand the specifics of this or that country’s law system in advance. 

Additional attention is required for the countries which, on the international level, are considered as the ones with low trust in the judicial system. 

Demand for Protection from Interpol’s Searches 

The demand for such services for international lawyers exists and is growing this year. It is not easy for specialists to look for such clients because this is quite a complex task and all the existing models to attract clients will not help here. 

But here, this is not crucial because, in such expertise, clients find lawyers by themselves. As the expiring year practice shows, these clients are usually businessmen, heads of state-owned enterprises, current or former officials, or just ordinary citizens. 

The demand for law assistance in international search cases depends on the political situation in the world and the countries which are involved in a particular case.

Sufficiently frequent revolutions and methods of repression of opposition or protesters have created a separate segment of citizens who are familiar with the Interpol search issues. 

Iconic International Search Cases and Their Influence on The Law Practice 

Of course, for each company or a lawyer that specializes in managing Interpol search cases, there are some cases allowing them to adapt to the modern changes in international relations and organizations’ activity. 

In terms of political context, there is a case of a citizen of the Russian Federation who has been a resident of Israel for many years now. The case is about the defense sector of the Russian Federation where, in 2012, a big scandal appeared which led to the resignation of the then-upcoming Minister of Defense. 

Since that time, many officials have been affected by political persecutions managed by the Russian government. 

The resident of UAE that was reported wanted fell under political persecution but the proper analysis allowed lawyers to avoid the detention and extradition of the client. 

Tendencies of the Area Development for the Next Year

For lawyers who plan to develop in the given area, it is recommended to enhance the Interpol expertise and extradition. 

As many specialists think, this practice is unique and perspective because it covers several law areas.

Considering the current world situation, the demand for lawyers’ services in a given law segment will only continue growing in the next year.