Last Plea of the Prisoner at the Bar

a statement by the prisoner at the bar after the pleadings have been completed, directed to the court before the court goes into the deliberation chamber to render the verdict in a criminal case. Soviet law gives the prisoner at the bar this opportunity to present his evaluation of everything that has been established in the course of the trial, to state his attitude toward the charge, and to make requests of the court. There is no time restriction on the defendant’s last plea, and the presiding judge has the right to stop him only if the prisoner at the bar touches on circumstances unrelated to the case. Questions may not be addressed to the prisoner at the bar during the last plea.

The last plea of the prisoner at the bar is one of the guarantees of the right to defense. Failure to allow the prisoner at the bar the last plea is grounds for striking out the judgment.