Individual's level of education as a guarantee of the right to defense

Poltava Law Institute of Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Poltava, Ukraine

^* Corresponding author: a.s.shevchik@ukr.net

Abstract

The right to defense is enshrined in national legislation, including Art. 59 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which, “Everyone has the right to a professional legal assistance. In cases provided for by law, this assistance is free of charge” [1]. In addition, there is Art. 52 of the Criminal Procedural Code (CPC) of Ukraine [2]. The lack of an appropriate level of education cannot be regarded as a certain mental defect or the fact of not speaking the language, since individuals could have an appropriate oral skill in Ukrainian, but not written skills. The problem lies not only in the lack of a unified approach in the practice of law enforcement regarding the application of legal grounds for the mandatory provision of a lawyer in criminal proceedings for persons who do not have the appropriate level of education, but also in the lack of a strictly defined level of education that would be considered sufficient to ensure persons' right to protection.