An Initial Study of the Use of Simplified Procedure in China

By Elizabeth M. Lynch

A U.S.-Asia Law Institute study examines plea bargaining in the Chinese criminal justice system, and explores whether it conserves judicial resources at the expense of justice for defendants.

In every country, the story begins the same. Plea bargaining, or its functional equivalent,¹ emerges as a response from the judges, prosecutors, and lawyers, those responsible for the daily administration of justice, to society’s ever-increasing demands for less crime, more convictions, and always at a cheaper cost. But when society finally sees the result of its demands for more convictions, it is left with a quandary: forsake the widespread use of plea bargaining for justice or retain it for the efficiencies it brings to the system. This is a battle that plea bargaining always wins….

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