Plea Bargaining and Its Practical Application

Abstract

The plea bargain judgment and sentencing agreement is an innovation introduced in the Criminal Procedure Code through the reform undertaken in 2017. The purpose of adopting this type of special judgment was to establish agreement between the prosecution authority and the defendant regarding the admission of guilt, the type of punishment, the severity of the penalty, and the manner of its enforcement. This agreement is executed in the necessary presence of the defendant's counsel.

The inclusion of this type of special judgment in the code aimed at judicial efficiency as well as benefiting from the admission of guilt. In this kind of judgment, certain important rights are waived, such as the principle of adversarial proceedings, evaluation of evidence, their examination, and potentially the right of appeal. However, this type of judgment is considered to be in line with the spirit of the Criminal Procedure Code and its Article 6.

The agreement is prepared by the prosecutor and approved by the court, which verifies the fulfillment of legal conditions.

Although the legislator's intention was judicial economy and benefit for the defendant, statistical data reveal initially high demand for approval and a recent drastic decrease, with almost an inexistent number of agreements prepared by the prosecutor. This situation requires intervention in the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, making it more enticing and competitive with the expedited trial.