Appointment of ex officio defence counsel in cases of mandatory defence: Dilemmas in case law with reference to the CPC of the so-called Kosovo

The provisions on the appointment of an ex officio defence counsel in cases of compulsory defence are not essential for criminal proceedings. However, if the provisions on the engagement of a defense attorney in situations where his presence is necessary (mandatory defense) are not respected, serious problems will inevitably arise that will result in the fact that no decision of the public prosecutor's office and the court regarding the defendant would be valid or lawful. In this paper, we have briefly analyzed the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code that relate to the topic of this paper and pointed out possible problems and doubts that may arise. These are primarily situations concerning the relationship between the defendant and the appointed ex officio defense attorney, their cooperation, the search for another ex officio defense attorney by the defendant, possible disagreements between them and potential obstruction and abuse of this institute, primarily by the defendant (the so-called buying of time), for the sake of a more favorable outcome of the criminal proceedings itself. In this regard, several such situations were pointed out and how to overcome these doubts and possible problems that are otherwise not covered (foreseen) by the provisions of the CPC. There is also a brief overview of the so-called Criminal Procedure Code. Kosovo in the part that regulates these provisions, and the specifics and differences in relation to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Serbia.