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11. General principles of criminal defense
 
  Article 64-Attorney representation and self representation  
64.1 Attorney representation  
  A defendant has the right to be represented by an attorney of law, certified to the bar.  
  An attorney of law is someone registered to practice law and registered to attend court as representation of a person before a magistrate or judge.  
  A person who is not properly registered may not appear as counsel.  
64.3 Self representation  
  A defendant has the right to represent themselves in a matter, whether or not they are experienced at law.  
  While this is a right for all defendants, the procedure of court means a defendant representing themselves must first show competence in procedure before being permitted to undertake such self representation, which may or may not include a written and/or oral examination by the presiding judge and/or magistrate.  
  A defendant showing history or experience of law either by qualification, occupation or study may not be required to undertake such examination.  
  The purpose of the examination is to establish whether the defendant is capable of presenting a competent case according to the procedure of the law in their defense. If it is found by the presiding judge/magistrate they the defendant is incapable of such proper procedure, the judge may move to deny the motion for self representation and instead may appoint a legal aid representative as their counsel.  
64.4 Failure to be granted self-resentation on basis of legal incompetence no grounds for an appeal or legal excuse  
  The failure of a defendant to be granted self-representation on the basis of legal incompetence is no grounds for an appeal or legal excuse, as it is within the rights of the Court to ensure that all matters brought before it follow competent legal procedure.  
  To the contrary in denying any natural justice of a defendant, the presentation of competent legal defence is a principle of law and of justice that has precedence over whether a defendant has the right to self representation.  
     
     
     
     
 
 

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