Plea Bargaining Procedures in Tanzania: An Analysis of the Efficacy of the Laws
Keywords:
Tanzania, Rate of crime, Criminal Procedure Act, Backlog casesAbstract
The criminal justice in Tanzania is delivered to offenders through the established criminal justice system. It consists of series of government institutions like the police, prosecution services, defense attorneys, courts and prisons. However, due to increase of population and rate of crime in Tanzania, the criminal justice system encounters some challenges.
The congestion in prisons and accumulation of cases in Tanzania’s courts has made it difficult for judges and magistrates to deliver justice in a timely manner, especially in criminal cases, and the introduction of a plea-bargaining system was therefore considered essential. This delay and unresolved problem are even more acute in criminal cases. This is because of the restriction imposed by arrest and subsequent detention stays intact throughout, including the time of investigation, interrogation but also during the entire trial. A plea bargain is about what should happen to the accused and what punishment is best for him/her.
Despite the introduction of plea bargaining in Tanzania, criminal justice is still facing some challenges. The correction facilities are still encountering congestion and courts are still fighting backlog cases. Existence of these challenges raises questions on whether the laws which govern plea bargain in Tanzania have met the purposes.
There was a need therefore to assess the effectiveness of the laws governing plea bargaining procedures in Tanzania. The answers from the respondents were to the effect that the laws are not effective to the extent that the plea-bargaining agreements could lead to conviction of innocent accused persons.
Downloads
References
Journal Articles
ADELSTEIN, R (2019) “Plea Bargaining in South Africa: An Economic Perspective.”
Constitutional Court Review. Volume 9, 81–111.
ADEOGUN-Phillips, Charles A. "The Evolution and Practice of Guilty Pleas in International
Criminal Law." Contemporary International Criminal Law Issues: Contributions in
Pursuit of Accountability for Africa and the World. The Hague: TMC Asser Press,
2023.
385-452.
AIDONOJIE, Paul Atagamen, Anne Oyenmwosa Odojor, and Patience Omohoste Agbale.
"The
Legal Impact of Plea Bargain in Settlement of High Profile Financial Criminal Cases
in
Nigeria." Sriwijaya Law Review 5.2 (2021): 161-174.
ALABI A.A. (2004) Case Flow Management in the Lower Courts – Problems and Solutions.
In
Conference of All Nigeria Judges of the Lower Courts 2002 (Lagos:
ALBERT W. Alschuer,(1979) “Plea Bargaining and Its History”,79 Colombia Law Review,
1
(1979) p.3.
ALKON, Cynthia. "Hard bargaining in plea bargaining: When do prosecutors cross the
line." Nev. LJ 17 (2016): 401.
ALSCHULER, Albert W. "Plea bargaining and its history." Columbia Law Review 79.1
(1979):
1-43.
ALSCHULER, Albert W. "The changing plea-bargaining debates." Calif. L. Rev. 69 (1981):
652.
ALSCHULER, Albert W. "The defense attorney's role in plea bargaining." The Yale Law
Journal 84.6 (1975): 1179-1314.
BIBAS, Stephanos. "Plea bargaining outside the shadow of trial." Harvard Law
Review (2004): 2463-2547.
BITURO, Kenneth. Plea Bargaining in Tanzania: An Assessment of Its Implication on The
Rule
of Natural Justice. Diss. Mzumbe University, 2020.
BOLIFAAR, Andhy H. "Access to Justice of Plea Bargaining in Addressing the Challenge of
Tax
Crime in Indonesia." Scientium Law Review (SLR) 1.1 (2022): 1-12.
CHEESMAN, J.S., (2014) A Comparative Analysis of Plea Bargaining and the Subsequent
Tensions with an Effective and Fair Legal Defence, A PhD thesis submitted in the
University of Szeged, Faculty of Law and Political Science, at page. 12-21
CHIPETA, B D (1982) The Public Prosecutor and the Law of Criminal Procedure: A
handbook
for Public Prosecutors. Eastern Africa Publications Limited. Arusha. Dar Es Salaam, p.
16
CLARK, Janine Natalya. "Plea bargaining at the ICTY: Guilty pleas and
reconciliation." European Journal of International Law 20.2 (2009): 415-436.
CRESPO, Andrew Manuel. "The hidden law of plea bargaining." Columbia Law Review 118.5
(2018): 1303-1424
DAKYEN, I.C. (2006) The Nigerian Judicial System Problems, Challenges and Prospects, In
Judicial Integrity, Independence and Reforms. Essays in Honour of Hon. Justice M.L
Uwais (GCON, CJN) (Enugu: Snaap Press Ltd) at Pp.350-352.
DAVID M. Crowe, (1979) “Cost and Plea-Bargaining Process,”89, Yale Law Journal, at
page.333
DI LUCA, Joseph. "Expedient McJustice or Principled Alternative Dispute Resolution-A
Review
of Plea Bargaining in Canada." Crim. LQ 50 (2005): 14.
FISHER, T. The Boundaries of Plea-bargaining: Negotiating the Standard of Proof, The
Journal
of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973) Vol. 97, No.4 Summer, 2007), p.943
GABAGAMBI, Julena Jumbe. "The Untreated Wounds of Crime Victims in Tanzania: A
Psychological Consideration." Restorative Justice: Promoting Peace and Wellbeing.
Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. 193-211.
GASTORN, Kennedy. "Reforming Criminal Justice in Mainland Tanzania: Balancing the
Pleas
of Guilty and Guilty by Trials in Assuaging the Blockage of Criminal Dockets through
a Plea-Bargaining Scheme." Tuma L. Rev. 4 (2016): 113.
GORR, Michael. "The morality of plea bargaining." Social theory and practice 26.1 (2000):
129-
151.
GUIDORIZZI, Douglas D. "Should we really ban plea bargaining: The core concerns of pleabargaining critics." Emory Lj 47 (1998): 753.
HEUMANN, Milton. "A note on plea bargaining and case pressure." Law & Society
Review 9.3
(1975): 515-528.
KAPINGA, W. B., (1990) The Police Force and Human Rights in Tanzania, Third World Legal
Studies p. 41
KILEKAMAJENGA, Ntemi N. "Learning from contemporary examples in Africa: Referral
mechanisms for restorative justice in Tanzania." South African Crime Quarterly 63
(2018): 17-26.
KOREJO, Muhammad Saleem, et al. "Plea bargain dilemma, financial crime and asset
Books
CARISSA Byrne Hessick (2021). Punishment Without Trial: Why Plea Bargaining is A Bad
Deal 1
st edition, Abrams Press.
CHIPETA, B. D. A (2006) Handbook for Public Prosecutors, Mkuki and Nyota Publishers, p.
17
DAN Canon (2022). Pleading Out: How Plea Bargaining Creates a Permanent Criminal Class
2
nd edition, Basic books.
GARNER B.A., (2004) Black's Law Dictionary, 8th edition.
REGINA Rauxloh (2014). Plea Bargaining in National and International Law, 1
st edition,
Routledge publisher
THE NATIONAL PROSECUTIONS SERVICE, Plea Bargaining Guidelines June,2022
WEBSTER’S and JOHN Wiley & Sons, Inc.New World Law Dictionary Copyright 2010 by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.,
Websites
https://www.ojp.gov. accessed on Saturday, 12th February, 2022 at 10:20AM
https://www.thecitizen. co.tz/news/1840340-5285176-9d691d/index.html, visited February
2020
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/national/cj-plea-bargaining-ideal-for-tz-2504412
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/272
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz.accessed on Saturday, 12th February, 2023 at 21:15PM
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz.accessed on Saturday, 12th February, 2022 at 20:20PM.
https://www.thecitizen.co.tz. accessed on Saturday, 12th February, 2022 at 21:15PM
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License Terms
Ownership and Licensing:
Authors of research papers submitted to any journal published by The Law Brigade Publishers retain the copyright of their work while granting the journal specific rights. Authors maintain ownership of the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication. Simultaneously, authors agree to license their research papers under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License.
License Permissions:
Under the CC BY-SA 4.0 License, others are permitted to share and adapt the work, even for commercial purposes, provided that appropriate attribution is given to the authors, and acknowledgment is made of the initial publication by The Law Brigade Publishers. This license encourages the broad dissemination and reuse of research papers while ensuring that the original work is properly credited.
Additional Distribution Arrangements:
Authors are free to enter into separate, non-exclusive contractual arrangements for distributing the published version of the work (e.g., posting it to institutional repositories or publishing it in books), provided that the original publication by The Law Brigade Publishers is acknowledged.
Online Posting:
Authors are encouraged to share their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on personal websites) both prior to submission and after publication. This practice can facilitate productive exchanges and increase the visibility and citation of the work.
Responsibility and Liability:
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted research papers do not infringe on the copyright, privacy, or other rights of third parties. The Law Brigade Publishers disclaims any liability for any copyright infringement or violation of third-party rights within the submitted research papers.
