Enhancing plea bargaining process through mediation
Plea bargaining is an out of court process which allows the accused to plea for reduction of a charge or sentence for an offence that he had committed. It is a common practice among the accused and the prosecutor to expedite the disposal of criminal case. It benefits the prosecutor to secure the p...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Conference or Workshop Item |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
International Organization Center of Academic Research (OCERINT)
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/59855/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/59855/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/59855/1/59855_ENHANCING%20PLEA%20BARGAINING.pdf |
| Summary: | Plea bargaining is an out of court process which allows the accused to plea for reduction of a charge or
sentence for an offence that he had committed. It is a common practice among the accused and the
prosecutor to expedite the disposal of criminal case. It benefits the prosecutor to secure the punishment of
the accused without proceeding to a full trial, which needs a certain procedure and a higher standard of proof
to prove the accused guilty of an offence. Through plea bargaining, the accused will not be subjected to
severe charge or punishment, and the prosecutor and the accused cannot appeal the case to the higher
court if plea bargaining is successful. Nevertheless, the process of negotiation without the assistance of a
third party could lead to the unsuccessful of plea bargaining which may result to a full trial. This happens if
the prosecutor or the accused disagree with the sentence or a new charge offered by any one of them. This
will cause inconvenience to the accused if he initially agrees to plea bargaining for reduction of the charge or
sentence, however, due to the dissatisfaction of the suggestion of a new charge or sentence offered by the
accused, the prosecutor tends to proceed the case to a full trial. This can be avoided if a neutral third party
assists the accused and the offender to reach a deal. For instance, in Singapore a judge acts as a mediator
to facilitate the process of plea bargaining to resolve criminal cases out of court. Thus, this research
examines how plea bargaining is conducted under the Criminal Procedure Code of Malaysia. It also analyses
how mediation helps plea bargaining process under the law of Singapore. It is suggested that the Criminal
Procedure Code of Malaysia be amended to allow a third party to facilitate the process of plea bargaining. |
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