THE PRINCIPLE OF ENSURING THE RIGHT OF THE ACCUSED AND SUSPECT TO DEFENSE

Abstract

The principle of ensuring the right of the accused and suspect to defense is one of the absolute guarantees of the protection of the rights of these participants. However, despite its sufficient regulation, in practice there are several issues that need to be resolved. The right to defense is not identical to the right to provide qualified legal assistance, which calls into question the implementation of the principle in question from the standpoint of protecting the rights of accused and suspects, while the legislator allows the possibility of exercising this right not only by lawyers, but also by other persons. The right to protection must be provided by professionals. The provision allowing the protection of the rights of juvenile accused and suspects with their consent by legal representatives or other persons is controversial, but this approach is unacceptable for minors. The participation of a defense lawyer in cases of juvenile delinquency must be unconditional at all stages of the process. The legislator does not specify what is meant by mental or physical disabilities that prevent the accused and the suspect from exercising the right to defense, since in this case we are not talking about the insane. It is necessary to clearly define the content of these disorders that require the mandatory participation of a lawyer.