A two-day workshop “Plea Bargain in Money Laundering Cases in Serbia: Current Legal Framework, Judicial Review and Good Practices” was held in Šabac on 23–24 September 2025. The workshop gathered representatives of the Supreme Court, appellate courts, higher courts, Supreme Public Prosecution, higher and basic public prosecutions from around Serbia.

The workshop focused on the Serbian legal and regulatory framework governing plea bargaining in money laundering cases, in light of international standards and practices. Participants reviewed key aspects of implementation of plea bargain in practice, including: the scope of eligible offences, effectiveness of internal controls during negotiations, protection of rights of injured parties, obstacles for judicial review of negotiated agreements, proportionality of sanctions, and mechanisms ensuring transparency and accountability in the process.

Discussions also addressed impact of plea agreements to confiscation, the role of pre-trial detention, evidentiary value of confessions, and the importance of statistics in assessing the effectiveness of plea bargaining. Case studies were presented to highlight practical challenges and risks of both premature closure of investigations and undue delay of proceedings. Comparative experiences from Spain, France, and Belgium were shared to illustrate different approaches to plea bargaining in Europe.

The Council of Europe has provided a set of recommendations to enhance Serbia’s framework on plea agreements and proposed the introduction of a judicial review mechanism in line with national legislation, that would reinforce the transparency and accountability and at the same time decrease the risk of abuse of this mechanism.

The activity has taken place within the Project “Countering Economic Crime in Serbia”, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency, and implemented by the Council of Europe.