In criminal cases, defenders have an independent litigation status in criminal proceedings, perform their duties independently according to law, and only safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects and defendants, and have no obligation to prosecute.
The rights of defenders mainly include:
1. The right to be entrusted as a defender;
2. The right to consult, extract and copy the case materials and the right to meet and communicate;
3. Defense lawyers can consult, extract and copy the litigation documents and technical appraisal materials of this case from the date when the people's procuratorate examines and prosecutes the case, and can meet and communicate with the criminal suspect in custody;
4. The entrusted lawyer has the right to consult, extract and copy the litigation documents and files related to this case from the date of case review and prosecution. The entrusted lawyer has the right to consult, extract and copy all materials related to the case from the date when the people's court accepts the case;
5. Right to investigate and collect evidence. This is the right of defense lawyers, and other defenders do not have this right;
6. The right to present defense opinions at the stage of examination and prosecution;
7. The right to participate in court investigations and court debates;
8. The right of appeal with the consent of the defendant;
9. Defenders have the right to demand the cancellation of compulsory measures beyond the statutory time limit;
10, right of complaint and accusation;
1 1, the right to defend independently according to law and personal rights are inviolable;
12, the right to refuse the defense.
To sum up, a defender refers to a person who is entrusted by the accused or appointed by the people's court to help the criminal suspect and defendant exercise their right to defense in order to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.
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.
Defenders have independent litigation status and are not subordinate to criminal suspects or defendants, nor to people's procuratorates or people's courts.
Legal basis:
Article 37 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC)
The responsibility of the defender The responsibility of the defender is to provide materials and opinions on whether the criminal suspect or defendant is innocent or light, or to reduce or exempt his criminal responsibility according to facts and laws, and to safeguard the litigation rights and other legitimate rights and interests of the criminal suspect or defendant.