The right to qualified legal assistance in Russian criminal proceedings: current issues of implementation in judicial practice

The violation of any state-guaranteed individual rights is a destructive social phenomenon. However, the closest attention of human rights defenders and executors of law is focused on respect for citizens' rights in criminal proceedings. The violation of the right to defense is one of the fundamental violations of the criminal procedure law, entailing the cancellation of a final court decision in a criminal case. As a result, not only the legitimate interests of specific participants are damaged, but the authority of the judiciary is also undermined. The authors of the article, based on the analysis of modern judicial practice, identify the most typical cases of violation of the right to defense in order to draw attention to this problem. The issues of the realization of the citizens' right to qualified legal assistance are considered, including cases where the participation of a lawyer (defender) is required by law.