The purpose of the research was to study the problems in the process of procuring court-appointed lawyers for defendants in criminal cases, study and analyze obstacles to the court-appointed lawyers in performing duties, and find solutions to increase effectiveness in the procurement process and performing duties of court-appointed lawyers. A mixed methods design was employed namely; (1) qualitative research through analysis of documents and in-depth interviews of related persons, and (2) quantitative research through surveying of opinions obtained from the sample group of the qualitative research including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court-appointed lawyers, an legal scholars and defendants assigned with court-appointed lawyers in criminal cases. The research surveyed opinions of how to enhance the performing duties of court-appointed lawyers for defendants in criminal cases covering 5 areas, namely; (1) law enhancement, (2) quality enhancement of court-appointed lawyer, (3) performing duties of court-appointed lawyer enhancement, (4) remuneration of court-appointed lawyers enhancement and (5) enhancement in the conduct and ethics of court-appointed lawyers. The research has found that the legal content should be enhanced through specific details about the attributes, selection, performing duties of court-appointed lawyers and conduct and ethics to comply with the regulations of the President of the Supreme Court by amending Section 165/1 and Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Furthermore, the quality enhancement of court-appointed lawyers should have selection system and process must be systematically established, and court-appointed lawyers should have a chance to broaden their knowledge and experience such as through annual training or seminars or through specific training courses for
court-appointed lawyers. Additionally, court-appointed lawyers should be categorized by their specialization and appropriately assigned to cases according to their expertise and experience. Meanwhile, for the area of enhancements in the performing duties of court-appointed lawyers, court-appointed lawyers should prepare their cases more seriously and effectively. The performing duties of court-appointed lawyers should be subjected to both vertical checks and balance through internal organization and horizontal checks and balance through auditing performed by outside organizations or agencies. The duties performed by court-appointed lawyers before and during the trial, as well as after the final verdicts should be evaluated. As for the area of enhancements in the remunerations for court-appointed lawyers, appropriate monetary remunerations should be additionally provided consistently with economic conditions. Non-monetary remunerations should also be increased to create incentives such as rewarding certificates to the court-appointed lawyers for outstanding performance, issuing royal meritorious decorations, etc. Finally, for enhancements in the conduct and ethics of court-appointed lawyers, specific regulations should be specified for the performing duties of court-appointed lawyers to establish a framework for court-appointed lawyers to perform their duties. The recommendation on the performance improvement of the court appointed lawyer's duties is to enact the laws to govern the authority and function of the Lawyer Council of Thailand under Royal patronage and the office of the judiciary to serve as a main coordinator to increase the efficiency of court-appointed lawyers in performing their duties.