Criminal Defense Lawyer in Berlin

This page is written for people who do not read German and need a first orientation about criminal proceedings in Germany. It describes the practice of Kanzlei Korff in Berlin and summarizes some of the rights a person has when arrested, questioned, or summoned by German authorities. It is general information, not legal advice for a specific case.

About Kanzlei Korff

Kanzlei Korff is a criminal-defense law firm in Berlin run by Rechtsanwalt (attorney) Daniel Korff as a sole practice. Mr Korff is a certified specialist lawyer for criminal law (“Fachanwalt für Strafrecht”), a title conferred by the Rechtsanwaltskammer Berlin (Berlin Bar Association) under German professional law. The practice is limited to criminal law and criminal defense, with a focus on general criminal law, juvenile criminal law, narcotics offenses, sexual offenses, immigration-related criminal law, politically sensitive criminal cases, and cases with a cross-border element, including extradition and international mutual legal assistance.

The office is located at Kluckstraße 36, 10785 Berlin, in the Tiergarten district, a short distance from the Kriminalgericht Moabit (Berlin's main criminal court building), where a large share of Berlin's criminal cases are heard. More information about the firm's practice areas is available on the Kanzlei page and the Strafrecht overview (in German).

If You Are Arrested or Summoned in Germany

German criminal procedure gives every accused person a number of basic rights. Under Section 136 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), an accused person must be told what they are suspected of and must be informed that they are free to respond to the accusation or to remain silent, and that they may consult a defense lawyer of their choosing at any time, even before the first interview.

• Right to remain silent: you are not obliged to make any statement about the alleged offense. Silence cannot lawfully be held against you.
• Right to a lawyer: you may contact a defense lawyer before answering any questions, and the authorities must make this possible.
• Right to an interpreter: the language of German courts is German (Section 184 of the Courts Constitution Act, GVG). Where a person involved does not speak German, an interpreter must be called in (Section 185 GVG). An accused person who does not speak German has a specific right to a free interpreter or translator, including written translation of key documents such as an indictment, a penal order, or a non-final judgment (Section 187 GVG).
• Consular notification: foreign nationals who are arrested generally have the right to have their consulate informed and to communicate with it, under international treaty law.

If you receive a summons (Vorladung) from the police as a suspect, you are generally not obliged to appear; a summons from a public prosecutor or a court is different and must normally be followed. In every case, the safer course is to make no statement about the facts until a defense lawyer has reviewed the file. The guides on arrest (Festnahme) and pre-trial detention (Untersuchungshaft) go into more detail (in German).

Extradition and the European Arrest Warrant

Germany executes European Arrest Warrants issued by other EU member states and also handles extradition requests from non-EU countries under the Act on International Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (IRG). In Germany, the court responsible for deciding on extradition is the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht); in Berlin, this is the Kammergericht.

A person who is arrested on the basis of an arrest warrant can be asked to consent to “simplified extradition”. Consenting speeds up the procedure considerably and generally cannot be revoked, and it substantially limits later judicial review of the surrender decision. You should not consent to simplified extradition, or waive the right to a written translation of the arrest warrant, before speaking to a defense lawyer. More information on this practice area, including the Auslieferung & Europäischer Haftbefehl page, is available in German.

Criminal Proceedings and Residence Status

For non-German nationals, a criminal investigation or conviction can have consequences beyond the criminal sentence itself, potentially affecting a residence permit, a pending naturalisation application, or a person's immigration status more generally. Whether and to what extent this happens depends entirely on the individual case, the offense, and the type of residence title involved, so no general figures or outcomes can be given here. Because of this, immigration consequences should be considered from the very start of a criminal case, not only after a conviction. Further background is available on the Ausländerstrafrecht page (in German).

Mandatory Defence Counsel

German law provides for cases of “necessary defense” (notwendige Verteidigung) under Section 140 StPO, for example where a serious offense is alleged, where the case will be heard by a higher court, or where the accused is in pre-trial detention. In these cases, a defense lawyer is appointed for the accused if none has been retained yet, and this appointment does not depend on the accused person's financial means. More information is available on the Pflichtverteidiger (appointed defense counsel) page (in German).

Contact

You are welcome to contact the office by e-mail. If you do not speak German, please tell us which language you speak so that an interpreter can be arranged where necessary.

Kanzlei Korff, Kluckstraße 36, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Telephone: +49 30 85479867
E-mail: kontakt@anwaltskanzlei-korff.de
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00–17:00 (CET)

You can also use the contact form (the form itself is in German).