Acceptance of Pleas of Guilty

(1) If an accused pleads guilty to a charge under either paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of rule 34, the president or judge advocate shall, before the court decides to accept the plea explain to the accused the nature of the charge and the general effect of his plea and in particular the difference in procedure 54 when an accused pleads guilty and when an accused pleads not (2) A court shall not accept a plea of guilty under either paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of rule 34 if– (a) the court is not satisfied that the accused understands the nature of the charge or the effect of his plea; or (b) the president having regard to all the circumstances, considers that the accused should plead not guilty; or (c) the accused is liable if convicted to be sentenced to death; (3) In the case of a plea of guilty under rule 34(2) a court shall also not accept the plea unless the convening officer concurs and it is satisfied of the justice of such course. The concurrence of the convening officer may be signified by the (4) When a plea of guilty under either paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of rule 34 is not accepted by the court or the accused either refuses to plead to the charge or does not plead to it intelligibly, the court shall enter a plea of not guilty. (5) When a court is satisfied that it can properly accept a plea of guilty under either paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of rule 34 it shall record a finding of guilty in respect thereof.