Legal aid

Article 21

Everyone shall have the right to legal aid.

Legal aid shall be provided by the bar, as an independent and autonomous profession, and by other services.

Legal aid may be provided free of charge, in accordance with the law.

Deprivation of liberty

Article 29

The person deprived of his/her liberty shall have the right to the defense counsel of his/her own choosing present at his interrogation..

PART TWO
HUMAN RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES

1. COMMON PROVISIONS

Legal aid

Article 21
Everyone shall have the right to legal aid.

Legal aid shall be provided by the bar, as an independent and autonomous profession, and by other services.

Legal aid may be provided free of charge, in accordance with the law.

Rights of Detained Persons
Article 5

(1) Persons deprived of liberty by a competent public authority shall be immediately informed in their language or in a language they understand about the grounds for their apprehension and, at the same time, informed that they are not obliged to make a statement, that they have a right to a defence attorney of their own choice and to request that a person of their choosing be informed on their deprivation of liberty as well as a diplomatic consular representative of a state whose nationals they are or a representative of appropriate international organization if they are stateless persons or refugees.

Examination of Suspect in Preliminary Investigation
Article 261

(3) The suspect shall be allowed to make contact with his/her defense attorney by phone or other means of electronic communication either directly or through his/her family members or a third person whose identity must be revealed, and the State Prosecutor may assist the suspect to find a defense attorney.

(4) If in the case of mandatory defense from Article 69 paragraph 1 of the present Code the suspect fails to retain a defense attorney by himself/herself or the defense attorney fails to appear within four hours from being contacted by the suspect in the sense of paragraph 3 of this Article, the State Prosecutor shall, by virtue of office, appoint a legal aid defense attorney in the order from the Bar Chamber’s list of defense attorneys and shall examine the suspect without any delay.

(5) Upon the approval by the State Prosecutor, and in presence of the defence attorney, the police and the officers of state administration body responsible for customs affairs may examine a suspect. If the suspect fails to retain a defence attorney, the competent State Prosecutor shall, ex officio, appoint him a defence attorney from the Bar Chamber’s list, following the order from the list, and shall examine him/her without delay.

Proceeding by the State Prosecutor upon Bringing a Person Deprived of Liberty

Article 266

(1) The State Prosecutor shall immediately advise a person deprived of liberty on his/her right to retain a defense attorney, and enable him/her to inform a defense attorney on his/her deprivation of liberty by phone or other means of electronic communication, either directly or through his/her family members or a third party whose identity must be relieved to the State Prosecutor, and shall where necessary assist him/her in retaining a defense attorney.

Part One
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter I
BASIC RULES

Rights of Detained Persons

Article 5
(1) Persons deprived of liberty by a competent public authority shall be immediately informed in their language or in a language they understand about the grounds for their apprehension and, at the same time, informed that they are not obliged to make a statement, that they have a right to a defence attorney of their own choice and to request that a person of their choosing be informed on their deprivation of liberty as well as a diplomatic consular representative of a state whose nationals they are or a representative of appropriate international organization if they are stateless persons or refugees.

Part One
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter VI
DEFENSE ATTORNEY

Right to a Defense Attorney

Article 66
(1) Accused persons shall have the right to a defense attorney.

(2) The accused person’s legal representative, spouse, direct blood relative, adoptive parent, adopted child, siblings or fosterparent as well as his/her extramarital partner may engage a defense attorney on behalf of the accused person.

(3) Only a member of the Bar may be engaged as defense attorney.

(4) Defense attorneys shall submit their power of attorney to the authority before which the procedure is being conducted. The accused person may also submit power of attorney to the defense attorney orally before the authority conducting the procedure.