The Disappearing Trial Risks: Recommendations: At the same time, the diminishing use of trials can threaten human rights protection and the rule of law by sidestepping procedural safeguards and risking coercion, and undermine the rule of law by reducing public scrutiny of police and prosecutorial practices and rights violations. When conducted without sufficient transparency and regulation, trial waivers can reduce public faith in the system, and potentially undermine anti-impunity and anticorruption efforts. Furthermore, although trial waivers may be adopted with the aim of reducing detention or public spending, their use in some jurisdictions to obtain convictions en masse risks over-incentivising criminalisation and conviction, with unintended and potentially costly effects on incarceration downstream. Detailed reforms will necessarily be jurisdiction-specific, given the wide variety of practices documented by this report. In general, there are four broad recommendations for jurisdictions to ensure trial waivers operate effectively. Safeguards: The types of trial waiver systems in place are diverse, and many contain features that can safeguard procedural rights. These include: (a) enhanced protection of procedural rights; (b) regulation of benefits offered in exchange for trial waivers, for example by limiting sentencing discounts; (c) limitations on the types of cases or defendants for which trial waivers may be used; and (d) greater judicial oversight over procedural and evidentiary requirements. International legal framework: Despite the widespread use of trial waiver systems around the world and their potential impact on the procedural rights of the accused, the presumption of innocence and freedom from torture, the international human rights framework has yet adequately to address this phenomenon. The few relevant cases from international and regional tribunals and guidance from human rights bodies that do exist are insufficient to provide a comprehensive framework for human rights protection in trial waiver systems. a.  Legal Framework: International and regional human rights bodies must develop a legal framework to effectively govern the use of trial waiver systems. b.  Human Rights Audit: National authorities should conduct an audit of human rights protections in trial waiver systems, which should ensure that: (a) procedural rights of defendants are fully maintained; (b) undue coercion is not caused by harsh sentencing or pre-trial detention regimes; and (c) sufficient judicial and public oversight of police and prosecutorial activity is maintained. c. Data Collection: States must monitor the impact of trial waiver systems through improved data collection, including information on the impact of trial waiver systems on rates of arrest, prosecution, conviction, and incarceration; use of pre-trial detention; sentence length; and impact on vulnerable groups. d. International Knowledge Exchange: Examples of good and bad practice, risks and safeguards to human rights protection should be shared by stakeholders across international jurisdictions, and should involve stakeholders from across affected government and civil society sectors. 5.