Immediate pursuit

Hot pursuit is the enforcement of public rights or duties by pursuing a fleeing across the border of the area beyond where the prosecuting state entitled to these rights. Of importance is traditionally the pursuit at sea, which can also be done with aircraft now, and the pursuit on land within states by the individual states. With the entry into force of the Schengen Agreement in 1995, the pursuit by land area comprising of Europe is now also possible for almost all of the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The pursuit of air is, however, generally rejected.

Land route

The hot pursuit on land that always directly affects the sovereignty of another State on its territory based entirely on international treaty law as well as administrative law of the states. To find for the pursuit by the executives of German states within Germany procedural rules, inter alia, in § 167 Judicature Act ( tracking fugitives across national borders ) and in various countries deal. In the pursuit to land there after the arrest or the arrest of the fugitives generally the obligation to its handover to the local authorities.

In the Holy Roman Empire contractual agreements to hot pursuit in a larger scale first emerged in the 15th century, the pursuit was regulated imperial law in the kingdom farewells of 1555 and 1559.

Sea ​​route

The pursuit at sea with violations of the territorial sea reached on the basis of regulations on anti-smuggling at the end of the 19th century in customary international legal recognition and in 1958 was held in the Convention on the High Seas, and most recently in 1982 in the Convention of the United Nations and trained. The pursuit has since also possible for violations in the area of the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf. The Nacheilerecht ends at the outer limit of the territorial sea of another State, thus extends not unlike the Nacheilerecht land in the territory of another State.

Schengen Agreement

On the basis of Article 18 c ) of the Schengen Convention may, under Article 41 of the Schengen Convention of 1990 to continue the prosecution of suspects on the territory of another Schengen country, without first obtaining the consent of that country.

Given the lack of border controls between signatory states of the Schengen Agreement, the pursuit was introduced to effectively fight crime. However, the pursuing officers of a foreign nation state on their access points have only limited powers. First, there must be a police action in the field of law enforcement or criminal enforcement action, which is carried out by law enforcement officers of the police or of the customs, the local police can not be notified in a timely manner or not in time to stop is to take over the pursuit. The foreign officials can only hold the person. An arrest is the local police forces reserved. You may only spatially or temporally limited with respect to the state border and the crossing time of act, private property shall not thereby be entered. They themselves must eg be identifiable by uniforms as law enforcement officers or their vehicles as police cars and the service weapon use may be made only in self-defense.

The Nacheilemöglichkeiten are not limited to police forces. Also, customs authorities may take advantage of it.