In 2018, the leniency system for pleading guilty and accepting punishment was incorporated into the newly revised "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" and was upgraded from a pilot system to a legal requirement. However, there are still many uncertainties in the implementation of the leniency system for pleading guilty and accepting punishment, among which One is whether the defendant and the defender can raise objections to the prosecution's sentencing recommendations in cases of plea and punishment. In judicial practice, some people believe that to plead guilty and accept punishment requires acknowledgment of both the charges and the sentencing recommendations of the public prosecution and no objection. Therefore, the defender is not allowed to raise objections to the sentencing recommendations.
In fact, according to Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China :
In cases where people plead guilty and accept punishment , the People's Court shall generally adopt the charges and sentencing recommendations charged by the People 's Procuratorate when making a judgment in accordance with the law , but the following circumstances apply : except :
( 1 ) The defendant ’s behavior does not constitute a crime or he should not be held criminally responsible;
(2) The defendant pleads guilty and accepts punishment against his will;
(3) The defendant denies the alleged criminal facts;
(4) The charges charged in the prosecution are inconsistent with the charges found in the trial;
(5) Other circumstances that may affect a fair trial.
If the People's Court finds that the sentencing recommendation is obviously inappropriate after trial, or the defendant or defender raises objections to the sentencing recommendation, the People's Procuratorate may adjust the sentencing recommendation. If the People's Procuratorate does not adjust the sentencing recommendation or if it is still obviously inappropriate after adjusting the sentencing recommendation, the People's Court shall make a judgment in accordance with the law.
It can be seen that according to existing legal provisions, defendants and defenders can still raise objections to sentencing recommendations in cases where they plead guilty and accept punishment. However, there is currently no clear provision on whether the people's court will still apply the leniency system when making a judgment under such circumstances.
FasterLawyer recommends that in cases where the defendant pleads guilty and accepts punishment, the defender should actively perform his defense duties. If he discovers the sentencing circumstances of the defendant's crime are minor, or believes that the sentencing recommendation of the public prosecutor's office is inappropriate, he should raise objections in a timely manner. In court trial practice, when objections are raised to sentencing recommendations, it is rare for prosecutors to adjust sentencing recommendations, and judges are not very enthusiastic about intervening in sentencing recommendations from both parties. In the absence of an agreement between the two parties, the leniency system for plea guilty and punishment is no longer applicable in some cases, causing the defendant to lose the right to leniency. Therefore, defenders should be cautious when raising sentencing objections under the condition of admitting guilt and accepting punishment, and need to fully communicate with the procuratorate and the court to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the defendant.
