Bail Act 1976

摘要

The Bail Act 1976 is the primary statute governing the grant and refusal of bail in criminal proceedings in England and Wales. It replaced the previous piecemeal arrangements and established, for the first time, a general right to bail for accused persons. Section 4 of the Act creates the right to bail: a person who is accused of an offence and appears before a magistrates' court or the Crown Court shall be granted bail unless one of the exceptions in Schedule 1 applies. Schedule 1, Part I (imprisonable offences) provides that bail may be refused if there are substantial grounds for believing the defendant would (a) fail to surrender to custody, (b) commit an offence while on bail, or (c) interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice. Relevant considerations for those grounds include the nature of the offence and probable sentence, the defendant's character, antecedents, community ties, and previous bail record. Under section 3 the court may impose conditions on bail to meet the grounds — conditions include residence at a specified address, reporting to a police station, curfew, surrender of passport, prohibition on contacting specified persons, and electronic monitoring. The offence of failing to surrender to custody (absconding) under section 6 carries a maximum sentence of three months on summary conviction or 12 months on indictment, to be served consecutively to any sentence for the underlying offence. Successive amendments since 1976 have restricted bail in particular categories of cases, notably for defendants charged with murder (Crown Court jurisdiction only) and for defendants who commit offences while on bail.

要点

• General right to bail (s.4) — a defendant who appears before a magistrates' court or the Crown Court in connection with proceedings for an offence or is brought before a court to be dealt with shall be granted bail unless one of the exceptions in Schedule 1 applies; the court must record its reasons for withholding bail
• Grounds for withholding bail — Schedule 1, Part I (imprisonable offences): substantial grounds for believing the defendant would (a) fail to surrender to custody; (b) commit an offence while on bail; or (c) interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice; the court must not withhold bail unless it is satisfied there are substantial grounds
• Relevant considerations for refusing bail — nature and seriousness of the offence and the probable method of dealing with it, the character, antecedents, associations, and community ties of the defendant, the defendant's record as respects the fulfilment of obligations under previous grants of bail, the strength of the evidence
• Conditions of bail (s.3) — the court or justice may impose conditions on a grant of bail; conditions may include a requirement to live and sleep at a specified address, to report periodically to a police station, to observe a curfew, to surrender a travel document, to refrain from contacting specified persons, or to comply with electronic monitoring requirements
• Bail in homicide cases — no Crown Court bail for murder without exceptional circumstances; a Crown Court judge must consider whether there is no real prospect of a custodial sentence (Bail Act 1976 s.4, as amended by CJA 2003)
• Section 25 — a person charged with homicide or rape who has previously been convicted of such an offence shall be granted bail only if the court is satisfied there are exceptional circumstances which justify it
• Offence of absconding (s.6) — a person who has been released on bail in criminal proceedings fails to surrender to custody without reasonable cause is guilty of an offence; maximum 3 months on summary conviction or 12 months on indictment; sentence to be served consecutively
• Pre-charge bail (ss.3A, 3ZA, as amended by PCSC Act 2022) — police may grant bail before charge subject to initial 28-day limit, extendable by superintendent to 3 months, and by magistrates for a further period; conditions may be attached; breach of pre-charge bail conditions is not an offence but justifies arrest

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