# The Standing Civilian Courts Order 1997, Article 42: Guilty plea


(1) If an accused pleads guilty to a charge, the court may, if it appears necessary to the magistrate and before the court decides to accept the plea, explain to the accused—
(a) the nature of the charge;
(b) the general effect of the plea; and
(c) the difference in procedure following pleas of guilty and not guilty.
(2) The court shall not accept a plea of guilty if, having regard to all the circumstances, it considers that it should not accept the plea.
(3) Where a plea of guilty is not accepted by the court, the court shall enter a plea of not guilty.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/172/article/42 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/standing-civilian-courts-order-1997/article-42
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.