DEVELOPMENT OF PLEA BARGAINING IN THE ADMINISTRATION ...

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NIALS Journal of Law and Development
Ordinance 1999, an anti-corruption law. The uniqueness of
the Pakistani system of plea bargain is that it seems to be
applicable only in corruption cases. The Pakistani system
shares some features in common with the Indian system. For
example, the Pakistani accused person initiates the plea
bargain in the sense that he applies for it, accepting his guilt
and offers to return the proceeds of corruption as determined
by investigators/prosecutors. The Chairman of the National
Accountability Bureau endorses it, after which it is presented
before the court. The court has wide discretion to decide
whether it should be accepted or not. If the request for plea
bargain is accepted by the court, the effect depends on
whether the matter is in trial or in appeal. In the case of the
former, the accused stands convicted but is not sentenced. In
the latter case, he does not undergo any sentence previously
pronounced by a lower court. The consequences of a
successful plea bargain in Pakistan are legion. For example,
the accused is disqualified to take part in elections, hold any
public office, obtain a loan from any bank and is dismissed
from service if he is a government official. 75
Plea Bargain in Poland
Poland has also adopted a limited form of plea bargaining,
which is applicable only to minor felonies (punishable by not
more than 10 years of imprisonment). The procedure is called
“voluntary submission to a penalty” and allows the court to
pass an agreed sentence without reviewing the evidence,
which significantly shortens the trial. There are some specific
conditions that have to be simultaneously met.
the defendant pleads guilty and proposes a penalty:
75. Ibid. The learned scholar wrote that the concept of plea bargain and its
application in Pakistan has been criticised in terms of its ethical and legal
connotations. He stated further that between 1999 and 2002, the NAB has
entered into 181 cases of plea bargain through accepted court process and
recovered an amount of US $36 million.