认罪协商（plea-bargaining），也称辩诉交易或诉辩交易，是指基于诉讼的经济与效率原则，法律允许当事人就所指控的犯罪进行协商，检察官（自诉人）根据协商结果决定起诉的罪名与罪数、刑罚的种类与期限等，法院根据协商结果对其合法性进行审查并在协商结果范围内适用法律的一种诉讼便利制度。认罪协商制度不仅在“原产地”英美法系的英国、美国等国家广泛适用，而且在意大利、日本等大陆法系国家也已“开花结果”。。

认罪协商制度源自于这样一种认识：除特定犯罪之外，犯罪首先侵害的是受害人的人身权利或财产权利，之后才是国家权益，所以，检察官为国家原告，受害人为自然人原告，他们共同成为诉讼的原告方；国家担当起检控犯罪的主要工作，调查收集犯罪证据，提起诉讼，但所提交的证据要达到法律所要求的“排除合理怀疑”证明程度实属不易；而犯罪嫌疑人（被告人）要进行有力的抗辩，需聘请相当水平的律师，其时间、金钱、机会成本等支出数额颇巨；在此情形下，当事人双方都有尽快结束诉讼的愿望。从经济学角度看，需求决定市场，作为社会生活的法律，自然会反映或体现现实生活的这一需求，允许当事人进行认罪协商。

为了更好的理解该词，以下是其英文释义：Plea bargaining, in law, the practice of negotiating an agreement between the prosecution and the defense whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense or (in the case of multiple offenses) to one or more of the offenses charged in exchange for more lenient sentencing, recommendations, a specific sentence, or a dismissal of other charges. Supporters of plea bargaining claim that it speeds court proceedings and guarantees a conviction, whereas opponents believe that it prevents justice from being served. The great majority of criminal cases in the United States involve some form of plea bargaining.

双语例句：

（1）On the basis of its findings and to safeguard against occurrences of arbitrary deprivation of liberty, the Working Group focuses on a number of issues it wishes to draw to the Government’s attention, including, the protection of the right to due process and a fair trial; the independence of the judiciary particularly in relation to equality of arms and the powers of the prosecution; excessive and harsh sentencing; the lack of use of alternatives to deprivation of liberty; the plea-bargaining system; administrative detention; detention in the context of peaceful demonstrations; and issues relating to asylum-seekers and irregular migrants.

根据这一结论，为防止任意剥夺自由情况的发生，工作组重点关注并希望提请政府注意一些问题，包括：对正当程序权和公平审判权的保护；司法机关的独立性，特别是针对控辩双方“平等武装”原则和检察机关权力而言；判刑过重过严；不使用剥夺自由的替代办法；认罪协商制度；行政拘留；和平示威中的拘留；寻求庇护者和非法移民有关的问题。

（2）Tribunal judges met with the visiting members of the Kosovo judiciary to discuss topics including witness protection, plea-bargaining, sentencing practice, case management, the appeals process, and legal standards in war crimes adjudication.

法庭的法官与来访的科 索沃司法机构成员举行了会议，双方讨论的主题包括证人保护、认罪协商、判决惯例、个案管理、申诉程序以及审判战争罪的法律标准。