Bail system (England and Wales)
There is a long tradition of bail release in English law , the legal basis being the bail system .
history
In the medieval counties of England, state power rested with the count and the sheriff. While the count held the judicial power, the sheriff held the executive power and thus had the right to arrest suspected criminals. Some sheriffs used bail for their own gain. (An example of a villainous sheriff is the legend of Robin Hood ).
The Statute of Westminster (1275) limits the sheriff's freedom of choice with regard to bail. The sheriff could still issue bail, but it was now specified for which offenses the release on bail was possible and for which not.
In the early 17th century ordered Charles I all noblemen to give him loans. The nobles who refused were imprisoned. Five of the prisoners filed a petition citing the habeas corpus file , according to which a subject of the English crown could not be detained without a judicial investigation. In the Petition of Right , which the English Parliament addressed to King Charles I in 1628, it was then determined that the king had defied the Magna Carta (1215) when he had people detained without justification.
The habeas corpus file stipulates that a prisoner is to be released from custody by the magistrate, who is the executive in these cases, as soon as the magistrate becomes aware of this and as soon as the prisoner has provided one or more securities. The amount of the collateral is determined at the discretion of the magistrate. Exceptions to this are crimes for which the law excludes the prisoner's release on bail.
The English Bill of Rights (1689) forbade the demand for excessively high deposits, which in fact undermined the right to release on bail and thus excessively curtailed the freedom of the individual. That was the predecessor of the 8th Amendment to the US Constitution , the basis of the bond system in the US .
Current practice
Under current UK law, a defendant has the right to bail unless there is reasonable cause not to be released. In addition to the demand for a deposit, additional demands can be made, such as B. taking up residence at a specific address or naming a guarantor. Release on bail is more often done by the police than by the courts and is therefore called police bail. People who are not released on bail are placed in pre-trial detention. The latest provisions are set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 .
