The court-appointed lawyer is assigned to the defendant by the judicial authority and so, unlike the attorney is not chosen by the citizensIt may happen that the defendant in which the lawyer has been assigned does not pay the amount due to the attorney who thus becomes a creditor towards its customers. To understand how you arrive at this, we must start from the the assumption that in the criminal process, the technical defence is mandatory: the citizen is suspected or accused of a crime is obliged to have a lawyer. In the case did not respond to the invitation of the judge to provide a lawyer, the court appoints one chosen from the list of attorneys who practice in the profession in aspects of criminal law and that you are available to take charge of the defenses of the office. In regard to the remuneration of these legal problems can arise and it is not uncommon that customers could contract debts, and substantial in their regard, but who is obliged to return these sums in such a way that the work done is not lost. First of all will be made clear that the court-appointed lawyer like any other lawyer has a right to wages, the fact that it was chosen by the judge and not by the same person in question does not affect this right. Also in this case, in fact, the defendant has enjoyed the professional performance lawyer, and has the obligation to pay the legal costs that are the responsibility of the professional. The attorney then is not a lawyer free of charge and has the ability and the confidence, to be admitted to legal aid at State expense if the requirements are met as required by law. The majority of criminal lawyers assume the defense both as attorney and as a court-appointed lawyer depending on the circumstances but the defendant is free to consult a lawyer, trustee at any time, even after the assignment of that office. It often happens that the defendant as a result of the cause does not pay the attorney that has defended, and that therefore the lawyers are creditors in respect of many customers. The sum derived from the receivables is not received from attorneys of the office may be used to pay taxes and fees, VAT included, and any pension contributions to employees. This procedure takes the name of “compensation of the tax debt,” and there are also loans that are settled in favour of the defenders office for the activities carried out in the criminal process. The above procedure is shown by the Circular of June, issued by the Ministry of Justice in the matter of the compensation of the tax debt with the loans to the expenses, rights and fees payable to lawyers for legal aid at the expense of the State. This communication was made necessary because of the many reports delivered to the Directorate general of civil justice have highlighted how in some judicial Offices were not admitted to the procedure of compensation claims settled in favour of the lawyers for the activities in the framework of the criminal process as defenders of the office. On the subject of compensation of the credit you can proceed in this way in particular in the case in which: the Second as stated by the above mentioned regulations then the occurrence of such circumstances the fees and expenses due and payable to the defender's office are paid by the judge in accordance with the procedure laid down in article and is allowed for opposition pursuant to article. The Circular adds that, in accordance with the d m. July, we should give the lawyers the ability to compensate for any claims for costs, fees and expenses that arose, at any date, accrued and not yet paid, for which there has been no proposal from the opposition. These credits will be compensated “with what they owed for each tax and fee, including the value added tax (VAT)”, and you can proceed to the payment of social security contributions for employees, through the sale of the receivables.
