Consulting firm EASY CONSULTING

No. Interpol is not a supranational police force and has no independent authority to detain individuals. The decision to detain, arrest, or extradite is always made by the national authorities of a given country under their own laws. A Red Notice merely informs them of the request — how to respond to it is for each state to decide.

A notice is challenged through the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files (CCF) — an independent body that reviews whether data complies with Interpol's Statute and Rules on the Processing of Data. The applicant or their representative files a request for access to data and/or its deletion, setting out the violations: political or military nature of the case (Art. 3 of the Statute), risk to human rights (Art. 2), or procedural defects. In urgent cases, a request for temporary blocking of the data can be made while the matter is under review.

The CCF (Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files) is an independent oversight body that monitors the processing of personal data within Interpol's system. It is the CCF that reviews individuals' requests for access to their data and for its deletion. If the Commission finds that a Red Notice violates Interpol's rules, it can order the deletion of the data from the databases — which, in practice, means the notice is removed.

An individual may, in particular, submit: a request for access to data (to find out whether Interpol's files contain information about them), a request for correction or deletion of data, and — in urgent situations — a request for temporary blocking (suspension of processing) of the data while it is under review. The right to apply is open to any person regardless of nationality or country of residence.

There is no public register of Red Notices, and a person is not always notified of one. Indirect signs include visa refusals, difficulties crossing borders, detention while traveling, or blocked banking transactions. The reliable way to check is to file a request for access to data with the CCF: the Commission will confirm whether Interpol's system holds information about the applicant.

The grounds usually include: political, military, religious, or racial character of the persecution (Art. 3 of the Statute); risk to human rights and inconsistency with the spirit of the Universal Declaration (Art. 2); insufficient severity or lack of substantiation of the charge; procedural violations; lack of a current interest in the case; and signs of misuse of Interpol's system for political purposes. If even one of these is confirmed, the data must be deleted.

Under Article 40 of the CCF Statute, the Requests Chamber has 9 months from the date a request is declared admissible to issue a decision. The full timeline — from filing to the final decision — is typically 12 to 15 months and depends on how quickly admissibility is determined and on correspondence with the requesting country's NCB. In urgent cases, a temporary blocking mechanism is available.

Understanding the Commission's internal logic and procedures helps in building a strategy, formulating arguments more precisely, and anticipating objections — but it does not and cannot influence the decision itself. The CCF reviews each case independently and on its merits; experience within the system is about the quality of the request's preparation, not about "connections."