In brief

Court-appointed counsel is not a second-class lawyer but an ordinary criminal defence lawyer appointed by the court. You can propose who it should be, and the court almost always follows that proposal.

When counsel is appointed

The cases of mandatory defence are listed in Section 140(1) StPO. The most important: the trial takes place before the regional court or the higher regional court; the charge is a serious crime carrying a minimum of one year; the accused is in pre-trial detention or otherwise detained; a professional ban is possible. There is also the general clause of Section 140(2) StPO: a serious offence, a difficult factual or legal situation, or an accused who clearly cannot defend themselves. Courts regularly treat an expected prison sentence of around one year as a “serious offence”.

Since the 2019 reform, counsel is no longer appointed only for the trial. On application, Section 141(1) StPO requires appointment during the investigation, and before questioning or an identity parade it can happen of the court’s own motion.

Your right to choose

Section 142(5) StPO gives the accused the opportunity to name a lawyer of their choice within a set period. The court appoints that lawyer unless there is good reason not to. Letting the period pass means being assigned someone from the court’s list. If you have received such a letter, a short call is worthwhile: we can also act as appointed counsel.

Changing counsel later is only possible under certain conditions, for example where the relationship of trust has broken down for good (Section 143a StPO).

Who pays

Appointed defence is not legal aid. The state treasury pays the statutory fees initially. If the client is convicted, they must bear the costs of the proceedings, and these fees are part of them (Section 465 StPO). On acquittal they remain with the state. The accused must be informed of this before questioning (Section 136(1) sentence 5 StPO). Additional fee agreements are permitted, but they are not a condition for us taking on a case as appointed counsel.

General explanation, not advice on an individual case. As of November 2026.