Although the EAW does not expressly specify it, in practice, there should be an initial hearing at which the person can consent to surrender, and if they do not, the hearing should be adjourned for the arguments against surrender to be fully considered. In some Member States there is no further oral hearing and all submissions will have to be made in writing. Nevertheless, you could argue that a further oral hearing is necessary, in particular when oral evidence has to be heard. You could argue that the intention of Articles 13 and 14 EAW FD is that a further, substantive oral hearing should take place, in order for your client to be properly heard on why one or more refusal grounds apply to his or her case.

You should explain to the court that you will need to prepare the arguments and to obtain evidence with the assistance of an ISL, in accordance with Directive 2013/48/EU on the right of access to a lawyer (see Section H). You may also need to submit to the court that it should request further information from the Issuing State in order to make its decision regarding surrender, pursuant to Article 15 EAW FD, which will require an adjournment of the surrender hearing.

You will then need to make submissions based on the refusal grounds that apply in your case (section E and section F). As explained above, you will need to present evidence to support these grounds. Much of this can be obtained with the assistance of an ISL.