Senate passes plea Bill

There were no abstentions.

According to the explanatory notes, the Bill allows a prosecutor and an accused person, which includes a person suspected of committing a criminal offence and a defendant in proceedings before the court for criminal proceedings (whether on his own or represented by an attorney), to engage in plea discussions aimed at arriving at a plea agreement.

The plea discussions may be initiated by either the accused person or prosecutor in both summary and indictable offences. Under the plea agreement, the accused agrees to plead guilty to a specified offence or undertakes to perform any other obligations contained in the plea agreement in exchange for the prosecutor’s undertaking to take a particular course of action.

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