The series of training workshops on the institution of plea agreements, jointly conducted over the past year by the PGO, Chamber of Advocates and Regional Dialogue, have produced a collection of valuable insights from prosecutors and defense attorneys across Uzbekistan on how to improve the current law regulating this instrument.

It is rewarding to see positive outcomes from our joint efforts and today’s workshop for prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and representatives of the academia is a continuation of those efforts. On the first day of a two-day workshop the participants discussed the ideas and draft changes to Article 586 (1-10) of the Criminal Procedure Code with Regional Dialogue legal experts Gregory Weddle and Goran Klemencic joining them in the discussion.

The second day of the workshop on drafting changes to the law on plea agreements included discussions of the suggested changes to the sub-provisions of the  CPC Article 586 related to the contents of a plea agreement, factors in the determination of resolving a criminal case with a negotiated plea agreement and acceptance or rejection of a plea agreement by the court. 

We hope that the ideas exchanged and the consensuses achieved in this workshop will help fill the gaps in the existing law on the institution of plea agreements and will make a positive impact on the judicial system contributing to the equality of arms.