Sporazum o priznanju krivičnog dela
Guilty Plea Agreement

Summary/Abstract: As a new criminal procedure concept in our legal system, guilty plea bargain, i.e. gulty plea agreement with a defendant represents a simplified procedural form that has been widely accepted in modern systems of criminal law. Guilty plea agreement was introduced by the Act on Modifications and Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code in September 2009 and further grounds in that respect were provided in 2012, with the passage of the current Criminal Procedure Code. This paper offers a critical overview of the existing legal provisions, alongside the analysis and cross-legal comparison of basic characteristics of the guilty plea agreement concept and thereupon based judgments, with a particular reference to the deficiencies of the current legal framework and issues arising from the ongoing judicial practice. Given the fact that it has been more than 5 years since the beginning of the implementation of plea bargaining, along with increasing numbers of judgments rendered on the basis of such agreements in criminal cases, open up multiple dilemmas and issues regarding its application in practice. In spite of the numerous advantages offered by the guilty plea agreement concept and thereupon based judgments, plea bargaining also features significant disadvantages such as the marginalisation of the victim, the lack of transparency and control of procesutor act in the agreements and the lack of judicial review of the well-foundness of the indictment, which would precede the adoption of the settlement and the confirmation of the indictment. Special consideration is given to the issue of the limited possibility for court to review and reject the settlement between the parties. The challenge for legislators and courts is to find the right balance between achieving efficiency and fast settlement of cases and the preservation of the basic postulates criminal procedure rights and mitigating the risk that innocent persons will be convicted of crime and that convictions are based on procedures which allow the courts to assess the credibility and strength of the evidence.

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