중국식 플리바게닝 제도에 관한 연구

Abstract

Plea Bargaining has developed routinely in the United States with historical background. Generally, a suspect or defendant gives a guilty answer as a condition that the prosecutor or court punishes him for a crime that is lighter than the original suspicion, or guarantees a lower sentence. Since China's reform and opening, the gap in economic development between rich and poor countries and the inequality in income distribution have intensified social conflicts, leading to the steady increase in crimes committed in China. Chinese law enforcement authorities are implementing a system similar to Plea Bargaining, including the criminal policies for cop a plea, criminal reconciliation procedures, short trial procedures, and meritorious service system, to achieve the goals of economic development and social stability simultaneously with limited legal resources. Under the circumstances, it is inevitable that the Chinese law enforcement authorities will adjudicate the case with a low sentence on the condition that the defendant makes a confession. There is a growing need to induce confession in a way that has relatively few elements of human rights violation rather than forcing confession by torture or intimidation as it has in the past. However, problems such as the infallibility of the right to refuse statements in China's criminal procedures, the inadequacy of the legal system, and the lack of presumption of innocence are the main obstacles to the introduction of Plea Bargaining. Without such improvements, it is expected that the introduction of Anglo-American Law’s Plea Bargaining to China will be difficult.