Out-of-court criminal dispute resolution in the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.S
Criminal proceedings take long and are expensive – especially when targeting white-collar offences. In times of budgetary constraints, States must allocate their judicial resources efficiently. Hence both the U.S. and European countries have incorporated alternative criminal dispute resolution mechanisms to avoid that each and every case reaches the trial court or – alternatively – that all criminal cases be tried “in full”. This article compares out-of-court criminal dispute resolution in the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.S. In Europe, the American non/deferred prosecution agreements remain little known. By contrast, the U.S. “plea bargaining” is much frowned upon. It is characterized as “bargaining with the truth” and fostering class justice. Some critical remarks can also be made as regards the instruments used in the Netherlands and Belgium to resolve criminal disputes out of court. The article discusses current and proposed legislations in the Netherlands and Belgium, taking inspiration from all three legal systems.
Journal/Publisher: Tijdschrift voor Sanctierecht & Onderneming, Issue 2-3
Co-author/s: Marc BLOTWIJK
Publication type: Article
Number of pages/Page range: 95-107
Language/s (content): English
Date of publication: 05-01-15
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Personal data
Full name Michael FERNANDEZ-BERTIER
Current occupation Member
University/Institution Université catholique de Louvain
Address Place Montesquieu 2
Postal code 1348 Louvain-la-
Telephone 0032 010 47 46 68