Pleading guilty – trial waiver systems 50. The increasing use of trial waiver systems across the world contributes to an overreliance on confessions and creates barriers to the identification and exclusion of evidence obtained by torture.112 Trial waiver systems incentivize suspects to admit guilt and waive some of their fair trial rights, such as the right to silence, in exchange for a shorter sentence or reduced charges.113 The number of countries with trial waiver systems has grown in the OSCE region, as more than 40 of the 57 participating States have some form of such a system. The prevalence of the use of these systems varies greatly among the different states. In one state, 66 per cent of cases in 2019 were resolved via trial waiver,114 and in another just over 2 per cent were resolved via trial waiver in 2018.115 51. An overreliance on guilty pleas can incentivize the police to use torture much in the same way that an overreliance on confessions does. This risk is heightened by the removal of the subsequent trial process and its associated safeguards for the exclusion of evidence obtained through torture. Criminal trials and procedures for challenging the admissibility of evidence are crucial forums that can expose torture and other ill-treatment, and they can also inform the wider public about instances of torture or other ill-treatment. Criminal court proceedings where allegations of torture are dealt with can also form the basis of collateral claims for compensation, or for the prosecution or establishing the civil liability of perpetrators. Plea deals may, at times, be used to avoid such claims by “cleansing” or “laundering” cases that are tainted by torture, ill-treatment or other human rights abuses by avoiding trials. Thus, trial waver systems can provide an incentive for the use of torture or other ill-treatment, as accountability for such acts becomes less likely. 112 In this document, the term ‘trial waiver’ is used. This guidance uses it broadly to represent the different terms in different systems but, technically speaking, it is: “A process not prohibited by law under which criminal defendants agree to accept guilt and/or cooperate with the investigative authority in exchange for some benefit from the state, most commonly in the form of reduced charges and/or lower sentences”; see also Fair Trials, “The Disappearing Trial: Towards a rightsbased approach to trial waiver systems”, (2017). 113 Ibid. 114 Questionnaire response Georgian Young Lawyers Association (2019). 115 Questionnaire response Promo LEX Association (Moldova) (2019). 38