New Reports on Global Plea Bargaining from Fair Trials
Fair Trials , an organization that campaigns "on issues that threaten the right to a fair trial or reinforce discrimination and inequality in criminal justice," has released two new reports regarding plea bargaining around the world. The first report, " Efficiency over justice: Insights into trial waiver systems in Europe ," was released in December 2021. From the executive summary: Criminal punishment is increasingly imposed without a trial but instead through a trial waiver system or other alternative disposition systems that fall short of a trial (including penal orders and fast track proceedings). A recent report by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, noted that in 2016, in the majority of Council of Europe member states, about 50% of criminal cases were processed before courts; the rest resulted in a sanction or measure imposed or negotiated by prosecutors. It is likely that the share of criminal cases processed out of courts will increase in