Study On The Right Of Defendants To Appeal In Cases Involving Guilty Pleas And Lenient Punishment

X In October 2018,the plea leniency system was legislated in a new amendment,marking the formal establishment of the plea system in China.The plea leniency system has improved the utilization rate of judicial resources and further optimized the allocation of judicial resources.However,in the course of judicial practice,there has been a phenomenon of appeals filed by some defendants in cases where the plea leniency has been applied in the first instance,causing a conflict between the value of judicial fairness embodied in the right of appeal and the efficiency value pursued by the plea leniency system,and it is necessary to further explore and resolve the appeal issue of the defendants in plea leniency cases.The plea leniency system is a major innovation in China’s criminal procedure system,and standardizing its right to appeal requires correctly weighing the two values of efficiency and justice,and improving it on the basis of affirming the value of the system.The reasonable regulation of the right to appeal in the plea leniency system can not only further deepen the fairness and efficiency in criminal justice,but also reasonably set up and construct the plea leniency system,and achieve the value goal of the plea leniency system.On the one hand,regulating the exercise of the defendant’s right to appeal in plea cases can provide a basis for judicial organs to correctly respond to the problem of the defendant abusing the right to appeal after admitting guilt and accepting punishment,and is of great significance for reducing the subjective arbitrariness of judicial personnel’s handling of cases and enhancing judicial authority.On the other hand,the study of this topic can improve the efficiency of litigation and optimize the allocation of resources under the premise of protecting the rights of defendants from infringement.Standardizing the right to appeal in plea cases is not only an inherent requirement for improving the plea leniency system,but also conforms to the development trend of criminal justice laws and the pursuit of multiple values in criminal proceedings,and is conducive to improving litigation efficiency on the basis of justice.Based on the basic theory of the right of criminal appeal,this paper summarizes and sorts out three different views of the current academic circles on whether the right of appeal in plea leniency cases is retained or restricted.Using the "China Judgment Documents Network" as the data source,and the view that the defendant’s "relief-type" right of appeal should be retained in plea leniency cases on the basis of retaining the right to appeal,and reasonable restrictions should be placed on the "breach of contract" appeal.On the basis of examining and drawing on the provisions restricting the "right of appeal" such as the British guilty defense system,the US plea bargain system,and the Taiwan-based prosecution and defense consultation system,and in light of China’s actual conditions,the feasibility and specific system design of establishing a hierarchical setting of the right of appeal in cases of leniency in plea leniency cases with light sentences(less than three years)are discussed,and reform suggestions for improving relevant supporting measures are put forward to ensure the voluntariness of defendants in the first-instance trial procedure,and to prevent the negative impact of restricting the right to appeal in cases of leniency in plea bargaining.