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ARTICLE · 28 MAY 2012

Deferred Prosecution Agreements: A Pragmatic Solution?

On 17 May 2012 the Ministry of Justice ("MoJ") launched a consultation on plans to introduce a new means of resolving criminal cases in England and Wales: the Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

United KingdomCriminal Law
Omar Qureshi
Omar Qureshi
Lisa Fox
Lisa Fox

On 17 May 2012 the Ministry of Justice ("MoJ") launched a consultation on plans to introduce a new means of resolving criminal cases in England and Wales: the Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs), together with Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs), have been used in the United States for years as a way of resolving criminal cases. They allow corporates to reach an agreed outcome with the authorities as a result of wrongdoing, which either the corporate has discovered itself and reported to the authorities or which the authorities have become aware of and are investigating.  Depending on the nature and seriousness of the offences involved and also depending on the level of cooperation by the corporate, the authorities may agree not to prosecute the offences if the corporate accepts certain penalties and conditions.  Such agreements are made with very limited judicial involvement (or no involvement at all in the case of NPAs). 

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