Article 163: Amending the Charge or the Plea

Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section

1. Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 2966/2568 (2025)

   Under Section 163 paragraph two, a defendant's motion to amend or add to the plea must be made before the trial court's judgment. A request to amend the plea filed at the Supreme Court stage cannot be granted.

   The defendant filed a motion at the Supreme Court stage that in substance sought to withdraw the earlier plea and give a new one. The Court quoted Section 163 paragraph two and held that amending a plea must be done before the trial court's judgment, so it could not be done on appeal to the Supreme Court.

2. Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 2934/2566 (2023)

   Amending a plea from denial to a guilty plea must be done before the trial court's judgment under Section 163 paragraph two. A guilty plea offered only at the Supreme Court stage is treated merely as accepting the facts without contesting the appellate court's ruling.

   The defendants sought to change their plea to guilty at the Supreme Court stage. The Court held this was an amendment of the plea that must be made before the trial court's judgment under Section 163 paragraph two, so it could not be done and only amounted to accepting the facts as found by the appellate court.

Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.