ABSTRACT

While bail may be granted on a defendant signing his own bond to appear for trial, on which failure he must pay the specified sum, this is usually only in respect of trivial offences. Otherwise, the accused person is granted bail on condition that he provides a surety. This is the usual primary condition: that the defendant must provide one or more surety or sureties for the purpose of securing his attendance to court when required. As such, the character and antecedents of the surety must be ascertained before he is accepted as such. The magistrate or justice accepting the surety may inquire as to both the sufficiency of the bail and the means of the surety: R v Saunders (1849) 2 Cox 249, and this may be done on oath. The court ought to explain to the surety, and make sure that he understands, the obligation that he is about to undertake. If he fails to produce the defendant for his trial, or if any other condition is broken, the recognisance of the surety may be forfeited.