NCJ Number
142035
Journal
Criminal Law Forum Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1992) Pages: 401-418
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This analysis of criminal proceedings and the legal aid system in Germany considers ways in which principles of this system might be useful in England and in which principles of the British system might be useful in Germany.
Abstract
Uncertainty exists about the future of legal aid services in England, even though the Legal Aid Act took effect in 1989. Similarly, the merging of the two German countries in 1990 has prompted reexamination of certain aspects of the legal system there. The analysis concludes that the duty solicitor scheme and other British approaches could beneficially be introduced in modified form into German criminal procedure. Conversely, some points of German law could benefit the British system. Among these are the German system's less rigid adherence to the autonomy principle, which permits the defendant to decline legal representation regardless of the reason. With the increasing integration of the European countries and the ending of internal border controls, creating this and other human rights protections at the international level would be desirable. Footnotes