Negotiations In German Criminal Procedure

Since 1970 s,in order to deal with the pressure of criminal cases,Germany has developed Informal Negotiations in criminal procedure in practice.On 29 July2009,the legislator added § 257 c to the Code of Criminal Procedure by the Act on the Regulation of Negotiations in Criminal Proceedings(Gesetz zur Regelung der Verst?ndigung im Strafverfahren),which allowed the court may in suitable cases come to an understanding with the participants of the proceedings on how to proceed further and on the result of the process.In 2013,in a long-awaited judgment,the German Constitutional Court upheld the constitutionality of the 2009 German law authorizing the negotiation of criminal judgments between the court and the parties.The judgment gave a large number of explanations of the negotiations provisions in Germany Criminal Procedural Law,so as to keep a close eye on further developments of the negotiations procedure.The judgment imposes some new restrictions on negotiations,such as strengthening the court’s truth-finding obligation,restricting the scope of negotiations,and expanding the court’s obligation of transparency and documentation.China is currently establishing the system of leniency based on peccavi,maybe we can learn various lessons and experiences from Negotiation Procedure in Germany.