| Sentencing recommendations have a new connotation different from the past in the context of the system of imposing lenient punishments on those confessing to their crimes and accepting punishments.The sentencing recommendations in the cases of imposing lenient punishments on those confessing to their crimes and accepting punishments are quite different from the traditional sentencing recommendations in terms of validity,proposal methods,contents,and the roles they play,and perform a more important system function.In the cases of imposing lenient punishments on those confessing to their crimes and accepting punishments,sentencing recommendations are a formal carrier that enables the prosecuted to know the consequences of admitting guilt and accepting punishment,and also a commitment with judicial credibility made on sentencing by the procuratorial organ to the prosecuted.To a certain extent,since sentencing recommendations reflect the consensus on sentencing issues between the prosecuting party and the prosecuted,sentencing recommendations have substantive binding force on the sentencing judgment made by the court and determine whether the functions and value of the system of imposing lenient punishments on those confessing to their crimes and accepting punishments can be realized.Due to sketchy provisions of relevant laws and regulations on sentencing recommendations,the lack of practical experience,etc.,problems have occurred,for example,in the operation process of sentencing recommendations,the procuratorial organ has an inaccurate grasp of "lenient punishments";the supervision and restriction of the procuratorial organ’s discretion is not in place;it is difficult to guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of the prosecuted in the process of putting forward the sentencing recommendations;and the judicial organ’s review of sentencing recommendations are just a formality.In this regard,in combination with the relevant legal norms and judicial practice,this paper deeply analyzes the nature,functions and new connotation of the sentencing recommendations,and summarizes the current situations and existing problems of the sentencing recommendations in the system of imposing lenient punishments on thoseconfessing to their crimes and accepting punishments.Starting from three aspects,i.e.restricting the discretion of the procuratorial organ,standardizing the review and adoption mechanism of the sentencing recommendations in the trial link,and protecting the legitimate rights of the prosecuted,the paper aims to realize that sentencing recommendations can better play a role in the system of imposing lenient punishments on those confessing to their crimes and accepting punishments through the corresponding program design. |
