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Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 14826 | 05 February 2019
Deal-making in criminal proceedings: the need for minimum standards for trial waiver systems
1. The Committee of Ministers has examined
Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation
2142 (2018) “Deal-making in criminal proceedings: the
need for minimum standards for trial waiver systems”, in the light
of the response of the consulted committees, namely the European
Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), the Consultative Council of
European Prosecutors (CCPE) and the Consultative Council of European
Judges (CCJE).
2. The right to a fair trial is a fundamental human right guaranteed
by the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the
European Court of Human Rights. Deal-making in criminal proceedings
has developed in recent years in a number of Council of Europe member
States and the Committee of Ministers concurs with the Parliamentary
Assembly on the importance of ensuring that trial waiver systems
provide for appropriate safeguards in order to minimise the potential
risks of threat to human rights, and in particular the right to
a fair trial.
3. The Committee of Ministers takes note of the invitation made
by the Parliamentary Assembly for the Committee “to undertake a
comprehensive study on the use of trial waiver systems in Council
of Europe member and observer States” and, on this basis, “to address
a set of recommendations to member States”. Having noted that the
existing trial waiver mechanisms in member States seem to allow
maintaining the balance between the guarantees for fundamental rights
and the need for a rapid and effective response to crime, the Committee
of Ministers informs the Parliamentary Assembly that the preparation
of such a study is not presently a priority. The competent committees
will, however, continue to pay attention to this matter and to its
potential impact on the right to a fair trial.