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Bail
advice brochure
Legal
Resources Foundation (LRF)
2011
This is a document in the
Know
Your Rights series
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About
this pamphlet
This pamphlet is for
people who have been arrested, their relatives and general public,
so that they can understand better how the police and courts function
when someone is arrested.
The pamphlet is on bail,
that is money deposited with the state by an arrested person so
that he/she can be out of prison while awaiting trial. The pamphlet
gives information on why bail is granted, by who, where, under what
conditions and what happens if the bail conditions are broken by
the accused.
What
is bail?
Bail is money deposited
with the state by a person charged with committing a crime. The
money is deposited so that the person can be released from the police
cells or the prison while he is waiting for his trial. The money
is a guarantee that he will return for the trial, and if he does,
he gets the money back.
Bail
is not a fine
A fine is a punishment
paid for committing a crime when a person admits he is guilty or
is found guilty by a court. A fine is paid into state revenues.
Bail money is just a
guarantee by a person who has not yet been tried, that he will come
for his trial. If the accused comes for the trial, he gets the money
back, whether or not the court finds him guilty. If he does not
come back, the magistrate may decide that the money should be forfeited
and it then goes to state revenue.
When
can someone be released on bail?
At any time after he
or she has been charged with a crime at the police station, before
the trial begins, or even after it is already in progress. Even
if someone has been found guilty, he can ask for bail while he is
waiting for his appeal.
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