An Analysis on the Efficiency of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Criminal Justice System with Emphasis on Plea Bargaining

Courts have long been severely overburdened with cases. It has been established that there are gaps in our current processes, and it is necessary to provide new ADR mechanisms so that conflicts can be resolved without the involvement of the court directly. ADR in criminal cases has failed to pick up speed, even though it is steadily becoming the norm for resolving civil issues. Plea bargaining is one of the ADR techniques used in the criminal judicial system. In the USA, plea bargaining is highly popular and accounts for over 90% of case resolutions. Plea bargaining has a solid track record in the United States of America for ensuring swift justice and access for all socioeconomic classes. Despite the fact that the idea of plea bargaining was first introduced to our criminal justice system back in 2005, India has not had much success with it. The many ADR techniques used in the criminal justice system are listed in this essay, along with an evaluation of their efficacy. It also compares plea bargaining practices across several nations, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, India, and the United States, and examines whether India's current plea-bargaining system is effective enough to address the issue of the backlog of cases in our courts. The paper also makes recommendations to the legislative body to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of plea negotiations.