{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/courts-martial-royal-navy-rules-1997/article-45",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/courts-martial-royal-navy-rules-1997/article-45.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1997/170",
  "legislation_title": "The Courts-Martial (Royal Navy) Rules 1997",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/courts-martial-royal-navy-rules-1997",
  "path": "article/45",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "45",
  "heading": "Change of plea",
  "text": "(1) At any time before the court closes to deliberate on its finding on a charge, an accused who has pleaded not guilty to the charge may withdraw his plea and substitute a plea of guilty.\n(2) At any time before the court closes to deliberate on its sentence on a charge, an accused who has pleaded guilty to the charge may withdraw his plea and substitute a plea of not guilty.\n(3) Where an accused changes his plea, the court shall proceed so far as is necessary as if the initial plea to that charge were the plea substituted.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/170/article/45",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T12:27:05.922918+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}