OSCE co-organizes seminar for defence lawyers on plea bargaining in criminal cases

Some 50 defence lawyers participated in a seminar on rules of procedural agreements and plea bargaining in criminal cases in accordance with new Criminal Procedure Code co-organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in co-operation with the Almaty Bar Association on 28 February 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The event aimed to help defence lawyers better understand criminal procedure legislation by learning the rules of plea bargaining, including ethical aspects and procedural guarantees and enhancing their knowledge and skills on the application of the procedural agreement in the pre-trial and court proceedings.

Participants discussed issues related to subjects and conditions for plea bargaining agreements, legal conditions for reaching an agreement, the prosecutor’s role in the negotiation of procedural agreements and parties’ benefits when reaching the agreement. National legal experts presented a general review of recent changes in criminal procedure legislation with regard to powers and functions of defence lawyers in criminal proceedings.

The event was conducted as part of the Office’s long-standing efforts at building the capacity of law-enforcement officers and the legal community to effectively function under the new criminal justice system.