以审查起诉为重心:认罪认罚从宽案件的程序格局

The Procedural Pattern of Cases Involving Pleading Guilty and Accepting Punishment with Leniency:An Analysis Centered on Examination and Prosecution

随着“以审判为中心”、认罪认罚从宽制度等司法改革的深入推进,刑事案件的办理方式日益呈现两个“互斥共存”的程序格局,即“以庭审为重心”和“以审查起诉为重心”。其中,认罪认罚从宽案件就是“以审查起诉为重心”的典型。这一程序格局体现在:认罪认罚从宽制度的实施以审查起诉环节为重要依托。其核心要旨在于有效地量刑协商,且作为控辩协商一致之产物的量刑建议一般应当被法院采纳。其正当根据既在于司法资源的合理配置,也在于审查起诉处于承前启后的中间环节,还在于检察机关承担着诉讼关照义务。当然,“以审查起诉为重心”的程序模式目前仍存在着若干隐忧之处,因而需要通过检察官切实履行诉讼关照义务,着力提升被追诉人的诉讼主体地位,以及努力提高量刑建议的精准化水平等路径予以合理规制。

With the advancement of judicial reform projects such as the trial-centered reform and the system of pleading guilty and accepting punishment with leniency(PGAPL),the criminal case-handling mode is showing two mutually exclusive and coexisting procedural patterns:the trial-centered pattern and the prosecution-centered pattern.Cases involving the PGAPL are typically prosecution-centered.The manifestations of this procedural pattern include:the implementation of the PGAPL is mainly based on the process of examination and prosecution;the core principle of this pattern lies in effective sentencing negotiation;and the sentencing recommendation resulting from the negotiation between the prosecution and the defense is generally adopted by the court.The justifications for this procedural pattern rest with the reasonable allocation of judicial resources,the position of examination and prosecution as a connecting link in criminal proceeding,and the considerate obligation undertaken by procuratorial organs.Of course,this procedural pattern still has some problems and needs to be further improved by ensuring that the considerate obligation is effectively performed by procurators,promoting the subject status of the accused in litigation,and raising the level of precision of sentencing recommendation.