Types of defence and the position of the defence counsel in criminal proceedings in the legal conditions of the Slovak Republic

Abstract

The article deals with the types of defence and the position of the defence counsel in criminal proceedings in the legal conditions of the Slovak Republic. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, the accused has the right to choose his/her legal defence counsel already at the stage of preliminary proceedings, i.e. before the commencement of the trial while the amendment to Act no. 301/2005 Coll. The criminal code, as amended, effective from 15th March 2024, the suspect already has this right. Defence counsel has the right to participate in all acts throughout the criminal proceedings, if the accused is concerned by the procedural acts. In the Slovak Republic, only a defence lawyer or, to a limited extent, a law clerk may represent the accused in criminal proceedings. The state (or its authorities) is obliged to appoint a defence counsel (free of charge) to the accused if he/she does not have sufficient means to pay the costs of defence and if the accused ask for it. By this, the accused himself is protected and he is guaranteed the right to a more qualified protection of his rights, by an entity that knows how to properly exercise his rights within the framework of criminal proceedings.