The enforcement significance of the admission of guilt agreement. Elements of compared law

Maria Magdalena Bârsan

doi:10.31926/but.ssl.2020.13.62.2.18

Abstract

The enforcement value of this institution resides in the fact that Romanian criminal justice needs to relieve congestion in regard to the large number of criminal cases tried before the courts of law, thus granting the defendant the right to admit the deed he is accused of and benefit from a reduced sanction as a result of a simplified procedure. The article discusses the most important advantages of the regulation of this institution on a national level.

Highlights

The special procedure of the admission of guilt agreement is completely new and entails a radical change of the Romanian criminal trial, as it is regulated with the purpose of reducing the duration of trials and simplifying the criminal prosecution phase, reducing the costs for both the parties and the Romanian state
According to article 479 of the Criminal Procedure Code, as modified by the Government’s Emergency Ordinance no 18/2016, the admission of guilt agreement represents the admission of the deed and the acceptance of the legal qualification of the deed in regard to the means and duration of the criminal sanction, its form of execution, 1 Transilvania University of Braşov, Law Faculty, Law Department, maria.m.barsan@unitbv.ro, Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov
It is necessary to observe that this special procedure was regulated in national law after the abbreviated procedure, as the latter existed before the coming into force of the new Criminal Procedure Code; the purpose of both these institutions was similar, namely the desire to speed up the criminal trial and reduce the human and financial resources which were needed in order for the defendant to stand trial

Summary

Introduction

The special procedure of the admission of guilt agreement is completely new and entails a radical change of the Romanian criminal trial, as it is regulated with the purpose of reducing the duration of trials and simplifying the criminal prosecution phase, reducing the costs for both the parties and the Romanian state.In the theses drafted on the occasion of the coming into force of the Criminal Procedure Code, passed by Government’s Decision no 829/2007, it is showed that, starting from the obvious realities of the current legal life, which shows that both the extensive duration of the criminal trials in general, as well as the people’s lack of trust in the act of justice and the human and material costs which are quite significant, translated into the high consumption of time and financial resources, led to a high degree of mistrust and uncertainty, the need to rethink the whole modern criminal system which responds to the imperative need to create a modern justice adequate to the new social expectations, as well as the increase of quality of this public service.According to article 479 of the Criminal Procedure Code, as modified by the Government’s Emergency Ordinance no 18/2016, the admission of guilt agreement represents the admission of the deed and the acceptance of the legal qualification of the deed in regard to the means and duration of the criminal sanction, its form of execution, Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series VII Vol 13(62) No 2 - 2020 the educational measures or the solution to forgo criminal sanction or postpone its enforcement.First of all, it is necessary to observe that this special procedure was regulated in national law after the abbreviated procedure, as the latter existed before the coming into force of the new Criminal Procedure Code; the purpose of both these institutions was similar, namely the desire to speed up the criminal trial and reduce the human and financial resources which were needed in order for the defendant to stand trial.As stated by its name, this institution entails the concept of “negotiated justice” as the central element is represented by an “agreement” between the prosecutor and the defendant by which the accused, by its own manifestation of will, renounces the guarantees provided by the presumption of innocence and his right to not selfincriminate, as by the admission of guilt (in the criminal procedure sense of the word it means the acceptance of the legal qualification of the deed) a potential dismissal of trial is removed.We must point out that the defendant decided if he wished to conclude such an agreement, as it does not operate ope legis, especially since the unification of the wills of the holder of this agreement and the prosecutor represents one of the necessary conditions to be met when the agreement is finalized. Romanian criminal justice needs to relieve congestion in regard to the large number of criminal cases tried before the courts of law, granting the defendant the right to admit the deed he is accused of and benefit from a reduced sanction as a result of a simplified procedure.

Results

Conclusion