Research On Sentencing Recommendation Procedures In Plea Leniency Cases

The revision of the Criminal Procedure Law in 2018 marks the formal establishment of the leniency system of confession and punishment in China.As an important part of the system,the sentencing suggestion system in the cases of confession and punishment has gradually entered the discussion horizon.The sentencing proposal not only reflects the agreement between the prosecution and the defense,but also affects the final judgment of the court.It is of great significance to realize the reasonable allocation of judicial resources and improve the efficiency of litigation on the basis of ensuring that the case is handled fairly.From the theoretical perspective,cases of confession and punishment in China are rooted in the litigation pattern of "cooperation","confirmation" in the trial mode,"agreement" in the case facts,and "dominance" by the procuratorate.The sentencing recommendation process in cases of confession and punishment includes three interconnected and sequential parts:sentencing negotiation,formation of sentencing recommendations,and review of sentencing recommendations,which are respectively responsible for achieving,determining,and adopting the agreement between the prosecution and defense.Sentencing leniency belongs to the category of statutory leniency,and the handling authority must follow legal provisions in deciding whether to leniency and the extent of leniency.The power of sentencing recommendation has dual attributes of procedure and entity.The sentencing suggestion includes the expectation of the defendant for obtaining a reduction in sentencing,directly reflecting the fulfillment of the promise of leniency by the procuratorate,and containing hidden constraints on the judge’s sentencing judgment.The constraint of the procuratorate s’ power to seek punishment on the independent jurisdiction of the court has led to conflicts and contradictions between the two organs.The sentencing recommendation procedure in plea leniency cases includes three interconnected parts: negotiation procedure,formation procedure,and review procedure.Sentencing consultation is a necessary procedure and core link for the procuratorate to make sentencing recommendations in plea leniency cases.At present,the sentencing consultation process is being carried out in an orderly manner,but there are also characteristics of insufficient interaction and formal participation.The procuratorate is in a dominant position,leading the whole process of sentencing consultation,the duty lawyer is not involved enough,and the phenomenon of "witnessization" is obvious,which cannot provide legal assistance to the prosecuted person in a substantive sense.In this regard,we should give the accused the right to start the sentencing consultation procedure,establish the evidence disclosure system in the case of pleading guilty,establish the principle of independent defense without additional punishment,and improve the duty lawyer system from the aspects of rights protection,economic subsidies,and permission to defense.The formation procedure for sentencing recommendations in plea leniency cases is the result of prosecution and defense consultation,and is also one of the focuses of court review and adjustment.In practice,the procuratorates have put forward a large number of recommendations for determining sentences and sentencing,but there has always been a lot of controversy over the accuracy of sentencing recommendations in plea leniency cases.The determination of punishment helps to enhance the motivation of the accused to plead guilty and punishment,but it is easy to cause tension between the law and prosecution,and the ability of the procuratorate to accurately determine punishment is also insufficient.In this regard,we should continue to improve sentencing guidelines,release guiding cases,strengthen judicial organs’ sentencing reasoning,and explore multi-party participation mechanisms for sentencing recommendations.The review procedure for sentencing recommendations in plea leniency cases is a concrete embodiment of the court’s power to regulate sentencing recommendations,and is also an important line of defense to ensure the fairness of sentencing and the procedural rights of the prosecuted.However,the trial process of plea leniency cases tends to be formally reviewed.There are doubts about how the adjustment standards for sentencing recommendations should be understood,and it is not clear whether prior notice should be used as a pre-procedure for adjusting sentencing recommendations.In this regard,the voluntary review of trial procedures should be strengthened,the standards for adjusting sentencing recommendations should be clarified,and the procedures for adjusting sentencing recommendations should be standardized,so as to promote the further improvement of the mechanism for reviewing sentencing recommendations in plea leniency cases.