INTERPOL Lawyer in Dubai, UAE

An INTERPOL lawyer in Dubai helps you find out whether a Red Notice or diffusion exists, challenge it before INTERPOL’s independent Commission (the CCF), and defend you if the UAE receives a request to extradite you. A Red Notice is not an arrest warrant, but in the UAE it can lead to detention while the requesting country sends its extradition file. Acting early, and in the right order, matters.

When do you need an INTERPOL lawyer?

People usually contact an INTERPOL lawyer in one of these situations:

• You think a notice may exist. You have a case, warrant or judgment in another country and want to know whether it has been shared through INTERPOL before you travel to or through the UAE.
• You or a family member has been stopped. Someone has been held in the UAE on a Red Notice or diffusion. UAE law allows provisional detention for up to 60 days while the requesting country sends its extradition request, so the first days matter.
• The notice comes from a private dispute. INTERPOL’s rules do not allow Red Notices for private disputes, such as an unpaid debt or a business disagreement, unless they are linked to serious or organised crime. A notice like this may be open to challenge.
• You believe the case is political or unfair. INTERPOL’s Constitution forbids any activity of a political, military, religious or racial character, and UAE law requires extradition to be refused for political offences and where the minimum guarantees of a fair trial are missing.
• The case abroad has ended. If the case was dropped, settled, decided in your favour or is time-barred, the data INTERPOL holds may be inaccurate, and you can ask for it to be corrected or deleted.

How we help with INTERPOL matters

• Finding out what exists. We check the public Red Notice list and, where needed, file an access request with the CCF to confirm whether INTERPOL holds data about you.
• Challenging a notice or diffusion. We prepare correction or deletion requests to the CCF, including requests for urgent provisional measures when detention or extradition is imminent.
• Extradition defence in the UAE. We attend Public Prosecution questioning, argue the case before the Court of Appeal, and handle any appeal.
• The case behind the notice. A notice usually rests on a warrant or judgment in another country. We work with lawyers there, because removing INTERPOL data does not cancel the foreign case.
• Advice before you travel. We assess your risk before you travel to or through the UAE. No one, including the CCF, can certify that travel is safe, so the advice is about risk, not guarantees.

Red Notice, diffusion or extradition request: what is the difference?

A country must use a diffusion instead of a notice when it wants to limit who receives the request, or when the request does not qualify for a notice (INTERPOL Rules on the Processing of Data, Article 99).

What happens if you are located in the UAE with a Red Notice?

Each country applies its own law to a Red Notice. In the UAE, the procedure is set by Federal Law No. 39 of 2006 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, as amended in 2023:

1. Location. The UAE informs the requesting country and INTERPOL that the person has been found, and may take the steps UAE law allows, such as provisional arrest or restricting movement (INTERPOL Rules on the Processing of Data, Article 87).
2. Provisional detention. In urgent cases, the Attorney General can order detention for 60 days on the foreign arrest warrant until the extradition request arrives, and can order release on guarantees during that period (Article 15).
3. The formal request. The requesting country must send it in writing through diplomatic channels, translated into Arabic, with the arrest warrant, the legal provisions and penalty, and a statement of the facts or the judgment (Article 11). The Ministry of Justice checks it and refers it to the Public Prosecution (Article 12).
4. Public Prosecution. After an arrest, the person must be brought before the Public Prosecution within 48 hours. They are told the reason for the arrest and the evidence, and have the right to a lawyer during questioning (Article 17).
5. Court of Appeal. The court hears the request in a closed session with the person and their lawyer, and gives a reasoned decision (Articles 18 to 20). If it rules that extradition is not possible, the person is released (Article 21).
6. Appeal. Both the Attorney General and the person can appeal within 30 days (Article 22). An extradition decision can only be carried out once it is final (Article 24).
7. Minister’s approval. Extradition also needs the approval of the Minister of Justice. If the requesting country does not collect the person within 30 days of being notified, the person is released (Articles 26 and 28).

A person can also consent to extradition, which allows a faster procedure (Articles 13 and 14). Consent has serious legal consequences, so get legal advice before signing anything.

When the UAE must refuse extradition

Extradition is only possible if the offence is punishable by at least one year’s imprisonment in both the requesting country and the UAE, or, for a person already sentenced, if at least six months of the sentence remain (Article 7). The UAE must refuse extradition if (Article 9):

• the person is a UAE citizen;
• UAE courts have jurisdiction over the offence;
• the offence is political, or connected to a political offence (terrorism and some other serious crimes are excluded from this protection);
• the offence is military in character;
• there are substantial grounds to believe the request is made to prosecute or punish the person for their race, religion, nationality or political opinion;
• the person is under investigation or prosecution in the UAE for the same offence, or has already been tried for it and acquitted, or convicted and has served the sentence;
• a UAE court has already given a final judgment on the offence;
• prosecution or the sentence is time-barred;
• the person has been, or would be, subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, or a harsh penalty out of proportion to the offence, or has not received the minimum guarantees of a fair trial.

The UAE can cooperate under an extradition treaty or, without one, on the basis of reciprocity (Article 2). The absence of a treaty with a country does not by itself mean there is no risk.

Challenging a Red Notice before the CCF

The Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) is INTERPOL’s independent body for requests about personal data. Anyone can ask it for access to, correction of, or deletion of data INTERPOL holds about them (CCF Statute, Article 29). Requests are free (Article 30). They are confidential: they are not recorded in INTERPOL’s police databases, and the CCF does not tell the requesting country where you are or who represents you. Its decisions are final and binding (Article 38).

Grounds under INTERPOL’s own rules

• Neutrality (Constitution, Article 3). INTERPOL is forbidden from any intervention or activity of a political, military, religious or racial character.
• Human rights (Constitution, Article 2). Cooperation must respect the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Minimum criteria for Red Notices (Rules on the Processing of Data, Article 83). The offence must be a serious ordinary-law crime. Red Notices may not be published for family or private matters, for offences arising from administrative regulations or private disputes (unless linked to serious or organised crime), or for offences that raise controversial issues of behavioural or cultural norms. For prosecution, the offence must carry a maximum of at least two years’ imprisonment; for a sentenced person, at least six months must remain. INTERPOL can make limited exceptions.
• Inaccurate or outdated data. For example, the case has been dropped, settled, decided in your favour or time-barred.

The process, step by step

1. File the request through the CCF’s secure online portal, in Arabic, English, French or Spanish, with a copy of your identity document. If a lawyer files for you, you sign a power of attorney. A correction or deletion request must set out its reasons and evidence.
2. Admissibility. The CCF tells you within one month whether the request is admissible (Article 32).
3. Review. The CCF consults INTERPOL’s General Secretariat and the country that recorded the data. In urgent cases, such as imminent extradition or detention, it can order provisional measures (Article 37).
4. Decision. The Statute sets four months from admissibility for access requests and nine months for correction or deletion requests (Article 40). These limits can be extended, including while INTERPOL’s General Secretariat completes its own compliance review (Article 33, as amended in 2025).
5. Revision. A decision can only be revisited on newly discovered facts, within six months of discovering them (Article 42).

What the CCF cannot do: it does not decide the criminal case, cannot act on national files or extradition proceedings, and cannot say whether you can travel without being arrested. Deleting a Red Notice therefore does not, on its own, end the case in the requesting country or a UAE extradition file. For a fuller walk-through, see our guide on how to remove an INTERPOL Red Notice.

How to check if you are wanted by INTERPOL

• INTERPOL’s public list. Only some Red Notices are public. INTERPOL says the majority are restricted to law enforcement, so not being on the public list does not mean there is no notice.
• A CCF access request. This is the formal way to ask whether INTERPOL holds data about you. It is free and confidential.
• Local UAE cases are separate. A UAE travel ban or local criminal case is recorded nationally, not by INTERPOL. Our criminal lawyers in Dubai deal with that side.

Does INTERPOL operate in the UAE?

Yes. The UAE has been an INTERPOL member since 2 October 1973, and its National Central Bureau is in Abu Dhabi. INTERPOL connects the police of its 196 member countries, but it does not arrest anyone itself. Any arrest in the UAE is made by UAE authorities under UAE law.

What to prepare for a consultation

• Your passport and any residence documents.
• Any notice, warrant, court judgment, police summons or case number from the requesting country.
• A short timeline of the underlying dispute or allegation.
• Evidence that the case was settled, dropped, paid or decided in your favour, if that applies.
• Any refugee, asylum or protection status documents.
• Your recent travel history, including any airport stops or refusals of entry.

If a family member has been detained in the UAE, contact a lawyer immediately. UAE law gives them the right to have a lawyer present when the Public Prosecution questions them.

Working with Advocate UAE

• Advocate UAE is the website of Amal Khamis Advocates & Legal Consultants, founded and led by Ms. Amal Khamis, a UAE-licensed advocate. The firm is licensed by the Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department (Licence No. ADF-2014-327), with an office in Aspect Tower, Business Bay.
• We prepare CCF submissions in English or Arabic, two of INTERPOL’s four working languages.
• We act for clients inside the UAE and for clients outside it, who can instruct us without travelling.
• Where there is also a UAE criminal case or travel ban, our criminal defence team handles both tracks together.

For a confidential consultation, call +971 54 388 0722 or message us on WhatsApp.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Red Notice an arrest warrant?

No. INTERPOL describes it as a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or similar action. It is based on a warrant or court order in the requesting country, and each country decides under its own law whether to arrest.

Can I be arrested in Dubai because of a Red Notice?

It is possible. UAE law allows the Attorney General, in urgent cases, to order detention for up to 60 days on a foreign arrest warrant while the extradition request arrives, with release on guarantees possible. Whether that happens depends on the case, which is why advice before travel matters.

Can the UAE extradite its own citizens?

No. Federal Law No. 39 of 2006 lists UAE citizenship as a ground on which extradition must be refused (Article 9).

How long does the CCF take?

The CCF Statute sets four months from admissibility for access requests and nine months for correction or deletion requests. The CCF can extend these limits, and it can act faster through provisional measures in urgent cases.

Does deleting a Red Notice end the case?

No. Deletion removes the data from INTERPOL’s system. The warrant or case in the requesting country, and any extradition request already sent to the UAE, have to be dealt with separately.

Can a lawyer guarantee removal of an INTERPOL notice?

No. The outcome depends on the facts, the documents, INTERPOL’s rules and the decisions of the CCF and national authorities. Be cautious of anyone who promises a result.

Does it cost anything to apply to the CCF?

No. INTERPOL charges nothing for a CCF request. Legal fees for preparing the request are separate.

Can you help if I am outside the UAE?

Yes. A CCF request can be filed for you online with a signed power of attorney, and we can advise on UAE extradition risk before you travel. We will explain which documents your case needs.

Sources

• INTERPOL: Red Notices and About Notices
• INTERPOL: Rules on the Processing of Data (2025 edition)
• INTERPOL: Statute of the CCF (2025 edition) and CCF: Data and your rights
• INTERPOL: United Arab Emirates member page
• UAE: Federal Law No. 39 of 2006 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2023

This page gives general information about INTERPOL rules and UAE law. It is not legal advice on a specific case. Last updated: 17 October 2026.

Further reading

• How to Remove an INTERPOL Red Notice: A UAE Guide
• Criminal Cases in Dubai: What to Expect and Your Rights