in a public hearing before a competent court, 60 within ten days of the receipt of notification of the decision itself.61 If the person is under arrest, the administration of the detention facility is under an obligation to refer an appeal to the competent court, immediately upon his or her arrival, and to inform a prosecutor.62 The appeal has suspensive effect on the execution of the extradition.63 The decision is taken in open court by a single judge in the presence of a prosecutor, the person whose extradition is sought and the latter’s legal counsel.64 The judicial review, however, is usually limited to an assessment of whether the extradition order was made in accordance with applicable international and domestic law procedure,65 although the court may consider whether the alleged offence has in fact occurred and, at least in theory, it may inquire into the nature of the alleged offence, its location, time and date, and may review any evidence and order judicial investigation measures provided for under Chapter 27 of the Criminal Procedure Code.66 However, in practice, it appears that Russian courts rarely use this power and tend to defer to the decision of the General Prosecutor’s Office rather than carry out an assessment of the risk of arbitrary refoulement. 67 This appraisal of the current extradition practice in Russian courts is supported by this Court’s case-law. Recently, in the case of Tadzhibayev v. Russia, the Court criticized “the reasoning put forward by the Supreme Court and its failure to take into account materials originating from reliable sources, such as reports by international NGOs.”68 It was not convinced that “the issue of the risk of ill-treatment was subjected to rigorous scrutiny in the asylum or extradition proceedings.”69 In Mukhitdinov v. Russia, it found that domestic courts to which an extradition decision had been appealed “appeared to attach the decisive weight to the assurances …, taking them at face value, without engaging in an analysis of the context in which they were given or making their detailed assessment against the Convention requirements.”70 This in particular occurred despite “the authoritative directions given by the Supreme Court to the lower courts in its Ruling no. 11 of 14 June 2012 to engage in a thorough and comprehensive review of the serious claims of ill-treatment.”71 The court decision granting or dismissing the appeal against the General Prosecutor’s Office’s extradition decision can be subsequently appealed to the Judicial Collegium on criminal cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation,72 within seven days of the decision. If the appeal dismissal is upheld, the extradition decision becomes final and enforceable. In practice, in Russia the extradition decision is executed on the same day on which it becomes final.73 While Russian law provides for an option of cassation 60 Supreme Court of the Republic, district or regional court, court of the city of federal importance, court of autonomous region or autonomous district, depending on the whereabouts of the persons against whom the extradition decision was delivered. 61 Article 463.1, CPC. 62 Article 463.2 CPC. 63 Article 462.6 CPC. 64 Article 463.4, CPC. 65 Article 463.6 CPC and article 355.2-3 CPC. 66 Ibid. 67 Opinion expressed by Eleonor Davidyan, lawyer of the project "Right to Asylum" of the Institute for Human Rights, Russian Federation, in an interview with the ICJ. 68 Tadzhibayev v. Russia, Application no. 17724/14, 1 December 2015, para. 44. 69 Ibid. 70 Mukhitdinov v. Russia, op cit paras. 50; Mamazhonov v. Russia, op cit para. 154. 71 Mukhitdinov v. Russia, op cit paras. 50; Mamazhonov v. Russia, op cit para. 157. 72 Article 463.9 CPC 73 Ibid. 8