刑事訴訟法上 證據開示制度

Abstract

Discovery is significant for a fair and swift trial. In criminal trials, a prosecutor, as an expert in the field of law, wields considerable power, and holds onto the majority of evidences. On the other hand, a defendant is discouraged due to the guiltiness and is apprehended by anxiety that derives from that the court might inflict penalty on him or her. In addition, a defendant has almost no knowledge related to law. For this reason, Constitutional Law guarantees the accused the right to an attorney, and declares his or her right to undergo a fair and swift trial. In order for this to be realized, an appointed lawyer must be able to know about the evidences that prosecutors are keeping. Given that an attorney knows about the evidences prior to a trial, he or she will be able to express agreement on the evidences that do not need to undergo investigation in advance. As a result, the trial will proceed swiftly, in that no more questioning on the evidences is going to be needed. Plus, since the lawyer will be prepared for dealing with the evidences that need to be looked over again for the sake of the accused, a fair trial may take place. Therefore, this thesis will be discussing the codes that South Korean Criminal Procedure Law contains for discovery and how they contribute to realizing two goals of the Constitutional Law; fairness and swiftness of a trial. Moreover, it will also discuss what progresses can be made so as to ameliorate the drawbacks that the codes might possess.