INTERPOL Red Notice Defences

Introduction

A defence against an INTERPOL Red Notice centres on proving that the notice violates INTERPOL’s internal regulations, specifically its Constitution and the Rules on the Processing of Data (RPD). This is because a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but an alert based on a domestic warrant. A successful defence focuses on challenging the compliance of the data within INTERPOL’s system rather than arguing the underlying criminal case itself.

Grounds for Defence: Constitutional Violations

The most robust defences are built on Articles 2 and 3 of the INTERPOL Constitution. Under Article 2, INTERPOL is mandated to act in the “spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)”. A defence can argue that the request infringes upon fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression, assembly, or association, if it violates the fundamental rights. Article 3 strictly forbids INTERPOL from issuing notices for undertaking activities of a political, military,