Empirical Study on the Application of the Chinese plea-bargaining system in the Crime of Helping Information Network Crime Cases

• In Event: Empirical Research and Theoretical Debates on Plea Bargaining System in Chinese Criminal Justice

Abstract

As noted by Weigend (2001), " The majority of offences are resolved in a simplified form of litigation", in response to the surge in crime, systems such as plea bargaining and criminal negotiation have been widely adopted in criminal proceedings around the world to optimise crime governance. The Chinese plea-bargaining system that China has adopted conformed to this world trend. At the prosecution stage, the application of discretional non-prosecution is an important way of procedural leniency. The crime of helping information network crime refers to the serious act of providing technical support, advertising, payment and settlement to others despite knowing that others are committing information network crimes. This offence is the third most prosecuted offence in China, and there is a need to expand the application of discretional non-prosecution to the defendant who pleads guilty and agree upon recommended punishment in order to reduce the number of cases entering trial, improve the efficiency of litigation and safeguard the defendant’s litigation right. This study collected 2986 samples of indictments and 583 samples of non-indictments of this crime and conducted a regression analysis of the discretionary sentencing circumstances for discretional non-prosecution to explore the role of plea bargaining and other circumstances in influencing discretional non-prosecution. The coefficients showed that the plea bargaining had little influence on discretional non-prosecution, and the influences of other circumstances were, from smallest to largest, illegal gains(0), repentance(0.886), occasional offenses(1.238), voluntary surrender(1.335), self-confession(1.503), return of illegal gains and compensation(1.804), first offender(2.777) and the defendant's student identity(5.143). The study explained the reasons for the limited impact of the plea bargaining on discretional non-prosecution, and gave advice for expanding the role of plea bargaining in the governance of the crime with a view to provide possible solutions for misdemeanor governance in the world.

Author

• YUNXIAO LIU, China University of Political Science and Law