Pre-trial cooperation agreement: enforcement matters and theory

Abstract

Along with total ordering of the criminal trial general in Russia, special, summary criminal procedures are applied. At present, special criminal justice is the main form of criminal litigation, as more than half of criminal cases are considered on the merits using these procedures. They are used to save time and labor of parties to a criminal proceeding, to involve people into organized groups, criminal communities in the investigation of crimes. In the present study, the authors consider the special procedure for the trial at the conclusion of the pre-trial cooperation agreement, attention is paid to the importance of the pre-trial cooperation agreement for the criminal process, consider its characteristics, as well as the legal precedents. Pre-trial cooperation agreement has some similarities with the guilty plea (plea bargaining), widely used in law enforcement practice of the United States. The authors believe that the basis of these procedures is a confession of guilt by the suspect (accused), which is sufficient for his conviction, as well as certain advantages for the accused who admitted guilt. The problems of using the pre-trial cooperation agreement in law enforcement practice are the possibility of false denunciations by a person who has concluded a pre-trial cooperation agreement, the use of illegal methods of investigation, the vulnerability of the rights of the victim. Other negative and positive aspects of application of the pretrial cooperation agreement are considered.