Примена међународноправних стандарда обавезности одбране окривљеног у праву Србије
The Application of International Legal Standards Regarding the Obligation of Defense for the Accused in Serbian Law

Author(s): Saša Knežević
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law
Published by: Правни факултет Универзитета у Источном Сарајеву
Keywords: Defense; Mandatory defense; International legal acts; Will of the accused; Procedural equality;
Summary/Abstract: Ensuring the right to legal defense should not depend on personal handicaps and the age of the accused, their ability to assess the potential penalties they are faced with, the extent of personal freedom restrictions, and other relevant circumstances for the need for expert assistance in defense. By establishing mandatory defense, the accused, as the original holder of the right to defense, forfeits the exclusive right to decide whether they will fulfill their procedural role on their own or with the assistance of defense counsel.Mandatory defense is an institution that is an integral part of the catalog of human rights prescribed by the most significant international legal documents on freedoms and human rights. This institution achieves dual equalization in criminal proceedings. The accused, who is most often in dispute with a legally educated person (public prosecutor) and whose procedural position is burdened with biological, socio-economic and legal handicaps, receives expert assistance from defense counsel regardless of their will. On the other hand, individuals with the status of the accused in criminal proceedings have an equal position regardless of their health, education, financial circumstances and similar factors. The positive legal solutions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Serbia have created a normative basis for realizing a public will among international legal standards of the obligation of defense in certain procedural situations.

• Details
• Contents