The Practical Reflections And Improvement Of Leniency System For Pleading Guilty And Punishment

Since November 2016,various unique explorations have been carried out in the pilot areas of leniency system for pleading guilty and punishment,which not only innovated the mode of case handling,but accumulated rich experience during process.Revised on October 26,2018,learned from the experiences and results of the pilot areas,the Criminal Procedure Law clearly defined the system in the legal provisions.Based on the empirical evidence,this paper reflects on the practice of the system,analyzes the problems existing in practice,and puts forward the path and plan of improvement.The research of this paper consists of four parts.The first part is a survey about the system theory.This part mainly analyzes the policy background,theoretical basis and practical basis of the system,and interprets the related concepts,value orientation and function of the system.The second part is the investigation of similar systems outside the country.This part explains the concept,application status and characteristics of the plea bargaining system in US and German,and discusses the referable lesson they drawn.The third part is the practical reflection of the system.This part focuses on summarizing and reflecting the existing problem through the practice status and the local handling mode of the system,including the scope of application,the reduction of risk and concern about the standard of proof,and the lack of protection for voluntary of confession and punishment,the unclear standards of sentencing,the undergrade of the legal aid counsel,and the insufficient protection of the legal rights and interests of the victims.The forth part is the plan to improve the system.This part puts forward the scheme of modification based on problems caused in the practice,developing a "negative list” for the scope of application which indicating the conditions that should not be applied;keep insisting the statutory standard of proof instead of reducing;For the duty counsel,their legal status and authority should be clarified,the access system established and the funds increased,their treatment improved,and their enthusiasm for improving the quality of legal assistance promoted.In order to strengthen the precision and standardization of sentencing respect,the principle,the scope of "Leniency" and the way of suggestion of sentencing should be cleared.In the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of victims,it is necessary to refine the scope of victim's right,and pay attention to the procedures of participation of victims and their rights to request the civil and nationalcompensation.