Defenders can be lawyers, people's organizations or units where criminal suspects and defendants work, or guardians, relatives and friends of criminal suspects and defendants. But only a lawyer can be appointed to defend.
What are the responsibilities of defenders?
1. Defend only on the basis of facts and laws, and do not fabricate facts or distort laws. Defenders must always adhere to the basic principles of taking facts as the basis and taking law as the criterion in criminal proceedings, and under no circumstances shall they help criminal suspects and defendants to fabricate, collude, forge or destroy evidence or threaten or induce witnesses to provide false evidence.
2, put forward materials and opinions to prove that the criminal suspect or defendant is innocent, light crime or reduce or exempt their criminal responsibility.
In criminal proceedings, defenders should focus on finding out and proving that the facts accused by criminal suspects and defendants are not what they did, or were falsely accused, framed or falsely accused or exposed, so the criminal suspects and defendants did not commit crimes at all;
3. Only in accordance with the law to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects and defendants. Defenders only protect the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings, but not all the interests of criminal suspects and defendants, let alone the rights and interests restricted or deprived according to law.
Defenders have many responsibilities in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of defendants.
Legal basis: Article 33 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC).
A criminal suspect or defendant may entrust one or two persons as defenders in addition to exercising their right of defense. The following persons may be entrusted as defenders:
(1) lawyers;
(2) A person recommended by a people's organization or the unit to which the criminal suspect or defendant belongs;
(3) Guardians, relatives and friends of criminal suspects and defendants.
A person who has been sentenced to punishment according to law or deprived of or restricted personal freedom shall not act as a defender.
A person who has been dismissed from public office or has his lawyer's or notary's practice certificate revoked may not act as a defender, except the guardian or near relative of the criminal suspect or defendant.