The Court-Appointed Defense Counsel System
This is a system where the court appoints, at the government’s costs, a defense counsel for the defendant who did not appoint a private defense counsel.
Cases where the court will appoint a defense counsel:
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Cases where a warrant of detention has been issued and the criminal defendant is subject to the procedure of substantial judgment of the warrant but does not have a defense counsel;
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Where an arrest/detention warrant has been issued and the criminal defendant does not have a defense counsel;
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Cases where the defendant, at the time of the arrest, is a minor or 70 years or older, has disabilities in hearing and speaking, is suspected of having a mental or physical disability, or has been indicted for a crime subject to capital punishment, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of 3 years or more;
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Cases where, in consideration of the defendant’s age, intelligence and level of education, it is deemed necessary to protect the criminal defendant’s rights and the defendant has not expressly refused a court-appointed defense counsel;
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Cases where there is no defense counsel on or after the prepatory hearing date has been designated;
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In certain re-trial cases;
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Cases where the criminal defendant has no defense counsel in a jury trial;
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Cases of application for medical treatment and custody under Medical Treatment and Custody Act; or
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Cases where Martial Court Act applies.
In any of the above cases, the court, in its own discretion, shall appoint a defense counsel on defendant’s behalf.
Court-Appointed Defense Counsel Selection Option
Where the criminal defendant is unable to appoint a defense counsel due to poverty or other reasons, the defendant may ask the court for a court-appointed defense counsel. Reasons other than poverty will be decided by the court, and the courts have been expanding the of the conditions. Prior to March 1, 2003, it was the courts who selected the court-appointed defense counsel for each case but since then, optional selection of court-appointed defense counsel system was adopted. Now defendants may choose a court-appointed defense counsel from the court-appointed defense counsel candidates list from each court.
Application for Court-Appointed Defense Counsel
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Criminal Defendant
When serving the indictment to the indicted criminal defendant, the courts also provide a notice with regard to the selection of court-appointed defense counsel. If the criminal defendant cannot appoint a lawyer due to poverty or other reasons, the defendant should fill out the “Application for Court-Appointed Defense Counsel” on the reverse of the notice, sign it and submit it to the court as soon as possible (by no later than 48 hours from the receipt of the notice).
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Applicants Other than the Defendant
The defendant’s legal agent, spouse, lineal relations, or siblings may appoint a lawyer independently.
Court-Appointed Defense Counsel
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Court-appointed defense counsels are assigned to each court, and the defendant may choose any one of those assigned court-appointed defense counsels or any lawyers he/she wishes to appoint by indicating in the application for court-appointed defense counsel. Provided, however, the selected counsel may not be appointed due to the circumstances of each counsel.
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In principle, each defendant may appoint one court-appointed defense counsel. However, in the case of joint defendants, one court-appointed defense counsel may be appointed for the joint defendants so long as there are no conflicts of interest among the defendants.
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The court-appointed defense counsels are chosen among lawyers or trainees from the Judicial Training and Research Institute and their fees are paid by the courts.
Proceedings
Criminal procedure
Court-Appointed Defense Counsel