MPs Nix Amendment Aimed at Changing Benefits for Cooperating Defendants

Bratislava, 11 November (TASR) - The system of benefits for so-called 'cooperating defendants' will remain unchanged for the time being, as MPs on Wednesday definitively rejected the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code that had proposed such changes. Only 75 of the 150 MPs present voted in favour of the draft, while one MP abstained and 74 voted against it. The amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code, sponsored by the Justice Ministry, was aimed at overhauling the existing practice of granting benefits to cooperating defendants during pre-trial proceedings, such as the deferral of formal charges or the suspension of criminal proceedings. The new system would instead have provided benefits in the form of substantial reductions in sentences or, alternatively, the waiving of punishments for cooperating defendants. Such benefits would only have been granted at the trial stage of criminal proceedings, following the filing of an indictment or a proposal for a plea bargain. Through this change, the Justice Ministry wanted to strengthen the link between the granting of benefits and the specific contribution made by a cooperating defendant toward clarifying criminal activity, as well as to establish a more consistent framework for decision-making by courts. The amendment also proposed introducing a requirement for cooperating defendants to provide, within 180 days, a full and truthful account of all crimes committed by them, as well as any crimes committed by other individuals of which they had knowledge. It also sought to determine the consequences for a cooperating defendant who failed to fulfil their cooperation obligations, a matter that currently isn't covered by the Criminal Procedure Code. ko/df