Review article
Obligatory appointment of a defence counsel: violation of the right of the accused to defend himself or herself in person?
Matko Pajčić
; Faculty of Law, University of Split, Split, Croatia
Abstract
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of the Council of Europe and almost all national constitutions state that everyone charged with a criminal offence has the right to defend himself or herself in person or through legal assistance of his or her own choosing. Yet, many countries prescribe the obligatory appointment of a defence counsel in their national criminal procedure codes, even against the will of the accused. The obvious question arises of whether this is a violation of the right of the accused to defend himself or herself in person. The answer depends on the way the position of the accused is settled after the appointment of the defence counsel. If the accused still has the right to act, to perform legal procedural acts, and if his or her defence counsel cannot act against the will of the accused, then this should not be considered as a violation of the right to defend oneself in person. Aside from the situation when it is obvious that the accused abuses his or her procedural rights, the accused must have active procedural rights and overall control over his or her defence.
Keywords
defence counsel; accused; mandatory defence; right to defend oneself in person
Hrčak ID:
218754
URI
Publication date:
12.10.2018.
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