About this book

This monograph examines the institute of plea bargaining as a major procedural innovation introduced through the reform of criminal procedural legislation in Montenegro, with the primary objective of enhancing the efficiency and rationalisation of criminal proceedings. Although it originated in the Anglo-American legal tradition, plea bargaining has gradually been adopted by numerous continental European legal systems, including those of the Western Balkans, albeit with significant normative and functional adaptations. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the concept, legal nature, and ratio legis of plea bargaining, as well as its relationship with the fundamental principles of mixed criminal procedure. Particular attention is devoted to the normative framework regulating plea bargaining in Montenegrin criminal procedural law and to the examination of relevant judicial practice, in order to assess its practical effects and potential shortcomings. Beyond doctrinal analysis, the study employs a comparative legal approach, examining selected jurisdictions, including the United States as the system of origin, England, Italy, Germany, France. The research is further complemented by empirical analysis. This monograph is intended for legal scholars, judges, prosecutors, defence attorneys, and students, as well as for all readers interested in contemporary developments and reform trends in criminal procedural law.