Dohoda o vině a trestu

Under Czech law

The agreement on guilt and punishment is regulated by § 175a–§ 175b of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act No. 141/1961 Sb.), with court approval under § 314o–§ 314s. Since a 2020 amendment it is available for all crimes, including the most serious. The accused must declare that they committed the act, the declaration must be supported by the evidence gathered, and the negotiated sentence must stay within statutory bounds — the court reviews the agreement and can reject it, but cannot rewrite it.

In exchange for the admission, the sentence can be set below the range that would likely follow a contested trial, and § 58 of the Criminal Code allows extraordinary mitigation. Once approved, the judgment has full force; appeal rights are sharply limited.

A practical example

An accountant charged with tax evasion faces a possible unconditional sentence. Her lawyer negotiates with the prosecutor: full admission, complete repayment of the evaded tax, and a suspended three-year sentence with a professional activity ban. The court approves the agreement at a public session; the case ends months earlier than a trial would, without the uncertainty of one.

When you need a lawyer

Always — by design. The law requires the accused to have defence counsel for the negotiation itself (§ 36 odst. 1 písm. d) tr. řádu). Beyond the formality, the entire value of the instrument lies in what an experienced defence lawyer can read from the file: how strong the evidence really is, and what sentence a trial would realistically produce.