The institute on negotiated guilty pleas came to life in the Montenegrin judiciary - from three agreements signed in 2010, 169 plead guilty pleas were reached in 2016.
This was said at the Conference on the Plea Agreement, in the Hotel Bjanka in Kolašin.
The participants of yesterday's meeting announced that they agree that we should work on expanding its legal application, considering its efficiency and multiple social benefits.
Director General of the Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sanctions in the Ministry of Justice, Nataša Radonjić, noted that the agreement is an important area of criminal legislation reform.
She said that compared to other newspapers, that institute was the first to come to life...
"By amending the Law on Criminal Procedure in 2015, we changed the rule that the agreement applies only to criminal offenses sentenced to 10 years in prison. Legal changes gave it a wider application, and criminal offenses of terrorism were exempted. Thus, in 2015, we had 59, and in 2016 - 167 plea agreements," said Radonjić.
Chargé d'affaires of the US Embassy, Bix Ali, explained that the plea agreement is one of the features of the American justice system.
"The mechanisms of criminal offenses are being perfected, as are the funds that are illegally acquired. There are areas for the application of the agreement, which the prosecutors benefit from because it is sometimes the only way to cover the entire criminal network. Victims of criminal offenses also benefit because justice is reached more easily and quickly. Long trials are avoided, cases are concluded more quickly. It is also useful for the general public because judicial actions are more accessible to them, and in the end it is also useful for perpetrators who receive lesser sentences," he said.
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