PLEA BARGAIN AS A GUARANTEE OF ENSURING INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Abstract

The article analyzes the issues of determining and concluding an agreement on admission of guilt, regulating relations to simplify the criminal process, protecting the interests of the individual in the framework of criminal proceedings. The author analyzes the positive experience of the United States, as a country where the institution of plea agreement is already widely used, and the possibility of applying this experience in the conditions of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is argued that the consent of the suspect or the accused is not enough to conclude an agreement on the confession of guilt, and the will of the prosecutor as a party to the agreement is also necessary, since it is the latter that is indicated in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan as a subject with such powers. However, in order to ensure a balance in the framework of criminal proceedings and the protection of individual rights in criminal proceedings, in order to make the plea agreement legal force, it is necessary to involve a third party who could verify the admissibility of concluding such an agreement. The role of this third party that can influence the outcome of the agreement is the court, which is vested with the authority to approve or refuse to approve the agreement. The author, analyzing the experience of the United States, notes that in the future it is possible that an agreement on admission of guilt will take the parties in a completely different direction, since they seek to settle a criminal case by simplifying the procedure when an innocent person is ready to admit and conclude an agreement, rather than spend resources on acquittal.