The “plea bargain” regime in brazilian, north american and portuguese law

Abstract

The article discusses Comparative Law by examining the history and concept of Plea Bargain (“Delação Premiada”) in Brazilian, Portuguese, and American legal systems. In the USA, known as "plea bargain," it has been widely used since the 1960s, being responsible for resolving the majority of criminal cases. In Brazil, the practice dates back to the Philippine Ordinances but resurfaced in the 1990s and was established in more detail in the Organized Crime Law of 2013. Brazilian law requires authorities to produce other evidence besides the informant's reports to support a conviction. In the USA, "plea bargain" can be used for any crime and does not require additional evidence besides the informant's report, with the Prosecution having discretion in its application. In Portugal, collaboration mechanisms emerged to deal with complex crimes and a sluggish criminal justice system. Portuguese law provides for sentence reduction or exemption in cases of significant collaboration, but informants' statements carry less weight due to the principle of immediacy of evidence and adversarial proceedings.