| Abstract [eng] |
Plea bargaining between the prosecution and the defence dates back to the United States in the 19th century, when the Anglo-Saxon legal system, due to stricter rules of criminal procedure and an increasing number of cases, began to focus on out-of-court settlements in order to optimise the criminal process. Plea bargaining is a process of negotiation in a criminal case between the prosecution and the defence based on a plea of guilty by to some or all the charges in exchange for a reduction of the charge or sentence. However, this method of resolving criminal cases has problematic aspects, as it raises questions about the transparency of the justice system and the legitimate punishment of the accused. The analysis of the forms of simplified proceedings and abbreviated evidentiary inquiries established in Lithuania in the context of plea bargaining, on the basis of the data analysed in the first part of the Master's thesis and the specific criteria for plea bargaining identified on this basis, allows us to reasonably conclude that the Lithuanian criminal procedure has the characteristics of this institution. However, due to the differences between these institutions, it cannot be said that this institution exists per se in Lithuania. On several occasions, draft laws have been submitted proposing to introduce the "agreement institute" in Lithuania, that would regulate this process. However, it should be noted that these draft laws need to be thoroughly adjusted, with the norms being more appropriately adapted to the Lithuanian criminal orders. With the appropriate adjustments, it is reasonable to say that a basis for the regulation of the negotiation process in Lithuania would emerge. It should be stressed that the institution of plea bargaining would not become merely an alternative to the existing simplified forms of criminal procedure, due to its distinctive features, which are not currently regulated in the Lithuanian criminal law. |
