Constitutional Court Rules "Defendant's Burden of Criminal Trial Costs is Constitutional"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the legal provision requiring defendants to bear all or part of the litigation costs in criminal trial procedures is constitutional.

On the 7th, the Constitutional Court announced that it made a unanimous decision by all justices to uphold the constitutionality in a constitutional review petition claiming that the Criminal Procedure Act, which stipulates the defendant's obligation to bear criminal litigation costs, infringes on the right to request a trial.

A, who was sentenced to pay a fine of 7 million won and litigation costs in the first trial on charges of fraud, filed a constitutional complaint after his request for a constitutional review of Article 186 of the Criminal Procedure Act was dismissed during the appeal, arguing that "if the defendant bears the litigation costs, it becomes difficult to exercise the right to defense."

Article 186(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act states, "When a sentence is pronounced, the defendant shall bear all or part of the litigation costs. However, this shall not apply if the defendant is unable to pay the litigation costs due to economic circumstances."

On this day, the Constitutional Court explained, "This provision serves to prevent the submission of unnecessary and futile defense methods by the defendant, as well as the abuse of formal trial requests or appeals in criminal trial procedures. The court responsible for the criminal trial can comprehensively consider the appropriateness of the defendant's exercise of the right to defense and economic ability, and at its discretion decide whether and to what extent the defendant should bear litigation costs, thereby promoting the proper operation of the judicial system."

It also ruled that the litigation costs borne by the defendant are limited to costs related to witnesses and appraisers, and since the court determines the burden considering the defendant's economic ability, it does not infringe on the right to request a trial.