Legal Position of the Defence Counsel in Criminal Proceedings

Okrivljenik se u kaznenom postupku ima pravo braniti sam ili uz branitelja po vlastitom izboru. Međutim, ukoliko nema dovoljno sredstava platiti branitelja, ima pravo na besplatnog branitelja, pod uvjetima propisanim zakonom. Branitelj se definira kao procesni punomoćnik okrivljenika koji svojim pravnim znanjem i procesnom vještinom pomaže okrivljeniku u pronalaženju i utvrđivanju činjenica u njegovu korist, primjeni propisa koji su za okrivljenika najpovoljniji te korištenju procesnih prava. Pravni položaj branitelja vezan je uz položaj okrivljenika, stoga branitelj može poduzimati sve radnje u kaznenom postupku koje može poduzeti sam okrivljenik. Tijekom kaznenog postupka, branitelj se suprotstavlja optužbi i omogućava kontradiktornost i jednakost oružja u sudskom postupku te na taj način pridonosi donošenju najpovoljnije odluke za okrivljenika. Zbog direktnog utjecaja kaznenog prava Europske Unije došlo je do posljednje u nizu izmjene Zakona o kaznenom postupku. Novelom se osnažuje pravni položaj branitelja, uvelike unapređuju njegova prava te se proširuju njegove mogućnosti, posebno u najranijim fazama kaznenog postupka, pri poduzimanju dokaznih radnji. Novom ulogom branitelja od njih se traži temeljita priprema koja podrazumijeva stručno obrazovanje i osposobljenost.In criminal proceeding the defendat has the right of self-representation or to be represented by an attorney of its own choice. However, if there are not enough funds to pay the defender, the defendat has the right to free counsel under the conditions that are prescribed by the law. The defender is defined as an authorised person of the defendants in which their legal knowledge and process skills help the defendant in finding and establishing the facts in his favour, making the application of the regulations for the defendants the most favorable and to help him to be able to use procedural rights. The legal position of the defender is related to the position of the defendant, therefore, the defender may take all actions in criminal proceeding same as the defendat. During the course of criminal proceedings, defender confronts charges and allows for contradiction and equality of arms in court proceedings and in this way contributes to making the best decisions for the defendants. Due to the direct influence of criminal law of the European Union, there has been up to the last in a series of amendments to the criminal procedure code. The novel strengthens the legal position of the defenders, greatly improving his rights and extend its capabilities, especially in the earliest stages of criminal proceedings, while taking evidential store. The new role of the defender is going to show their prompted thorough preparation which involves professional education and qualifications