Right to Counsel Appointed by the State

Abstract

The Criminal Procedure Code provides the right to counsel appointed by the state at the inquiry stage, in the preliminary examination and in the trial. When considering the Criminal Procedure Code provisions relating to the right to counsel appointed by the state since the effectiveness of Criminal Procedure Code dated on the 1^st October B.E. 2478 and an amendment until current provisions, it is found that there has been an improvement in the accused’s protections. When comparing the right to counsel appointed by the state under the Criminal Procedure Code with the international standards, it was found that the provisions in the Criminal Procedure Code was consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, when compared to the law, including the rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States and the law of England, it was found that the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code do not stipulate the right to effective counsel so that the accused is effectively assisted. It was therefore deemed appropriate that Thailand’s provisions should be revised by either defining the qualification of the counsels appointed by the state, or perhaps considering the British model of the Criminal Defense Service in 1999, which could employ counsels in the office or private lawyers in order to provide assistance to alleged offenders or the accused as stipulated in the law.