國民法官法下之合憲指定辯護人制度──以日本法為借鏡

The Constitutional Appointed Defense Counsel System under the Citizen Judges Act: Insights from Japanese Law

我國國民法官法自2023年1月1日正式施行，因部分審理制度之設計有別於傳統刑事訴訟程序，故在執行上不免引發諸多新爭議。本文鎖定在國民法官審理案件採強制辯護之設計下，所衍生之辯護人素質問題，特別係能否提供被告實質且有效之辯護，以合乎憲法正當程序之要求。為此，本文參考國民法官法所從來之日本法，介紹該國國選辯護制度之改革概況、細部設計，以及於裁判員裁判案件之運作概況後，針對我國國民法官法下之指定辯護制度，提出維持辯護獨立性、改善派案方式及增加辯護報酬3項未來可能之變革方向。

Taiwan’s Citizen Judges Act officially came into effect on January 1, 2023. Due to certain trial procedures differing from traditional criminal proceedings, numerous new controversies have inevitably arisen during implementation. This article focuses on the issue of defense counsel quality arising from the compulsory council system in citizen judge trials, particularly whether it provides defendants with substantive and effective defense in line with constitutional requirements of due process. To this end, the article references Japanese law, from which the Citizen Judges Act is derived, introducing the reform overview of the court-appointed defense counsel system, its detailed design, and its operational status in citizen judge (saiban-in) cases. Based on these insights, three potential reform directions are proposed for Taiwan’s appointed defense counsel system under the Citizen Judges Act: ensuring the independence of defense counsel, improving case assignment methods, and increasing defense counsel remuneration.