BAIL ACT - Legal Affairs

1 Current Authorised Pages Pages Authorised (inclusive) by 1 21 .. Act18 of 1994 Amended by 19 of 2005 12 of 2012 LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOCHAPTER 4:60 bail ACTUNOFFICIAL VERSION UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2015 MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal Chap. 4:60 BailLAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGONote on Subsidiary LegislationThis Chapter contains no subsidiary on Section 20 The Third Schedule has been omitted from this edition as the amendments listed thereinhave been incorporated into the respective the Third Schedule See Act No.

2 18 of VERSION UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2015 MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal bail Chap. 4:60 3 LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOCHAPTER 4:60 bail ACTARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONSSECTION 1. Short title. 2. Act inconsistent with sections 4 and 5 of the Constitution. 3. Interpretation. 4. Application of Act. 5. Eligibility for bail . 6. Circumstances in which bail may be denied. 6A. Appeals. 7. Restrictions on conditions of bail . 8. Record of decision as to bail . 9. Court to give reasons for granting or refusing bail .

3 10. Accused to be informed of his right to apply to High Court for bail . 11. Power of High Court to grant, refuse or vary conditions of bail . 11A. Right of appeal. 12. General provisions relating to bail . 13. Offence of absconding by person released on bail . 14. Penalty for absconding. 15. Liability to arrest for absconding or breaking conditions of bail . 16. bail with surety. 17. Forfeiture of security or recognisance. 18. Offence of agreeing to indemnify surety in criminal proceedings. 19. Offence to stand surety on consideration of property being used assecurity. 20. Amendments. 21. VERSION UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2015 MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal Chap.

4 4:60 BailLAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO18 of inconsistentwith sections 4and 5 of 1 4:60 bail ACTAn Act to amend the law relating to release from custody ofaccused persons in criminal proceedings and to makeprovision for Legal aid for persons kept in custody andfor connected purposes.[15 THSEPTEMBER1994]WHEREASit is enacted by section 13(1) of the Constitution that anAct of Parliament to which that section applies may expresslydeclare that it shall have effect even though inconsistent withsections 4 and 5 of the Constitution and, if any Act does sodeclare, it shall have effect accordingly:And whereas it is provided in section 13(2) of the Constitutionthat an Act of Parliament to which that section applies is one theBill for which has been passed by both Houses of Parliament andat the final vote thereon in each House has been supported by thevotes of not less than three-fifths of all the members of that House.

5 And whereas it is necessary and expedient that the provisions ofthis Act shall have effect notwithstanding sections 4 and 5 of theConstitution: 1. This Act may be cited as the bail Act. 2. This Act shall have effect even though inconsistent withsections 4 and 5 of the Constitution. 3. (1) In this Act bail in criminal proceedings means (a) bail grantable in or in connection withproceedings for an offence to a person who isaccused or convicted of the offence; or (b) bail grantable to a person who is under arrest orfor whose arrest a warrant endorsed with adirection for bail is issued;UNOFFICIAL VERSION UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2015 MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal bail Chap.

6 4:60 5 LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOCh. 4 12 12:04. child means a person under the age of fourteen years; conviction includes (a) a finding of guilt; (b) a finding that a person is not guilty by reason ofinsanity; and (c) a finding under section 66A(1) of the SummaryCourts Act that the person in question did the actor made the omission charged; Court includes a Judge, a Magistrate, a Justice of the Peace ora Coroner and, in the case of a specified Court, includes aJudge or Magistrate or, as the case may be, the Justicehaving power to act in connection with proceedings beforethat Court.

7 Proceedings against a fugitive offender means proceedingsunder section 12 of the Extradition (Commonwealth andForeign Territories) Act; surrender to custody means in relation to a person released onbail, surrendering himself into the custody of the Court or ofa police officer, in accordance with the conditions underwhich bail was granted, at the time and place appointed forhim to do so; vary , in relation to bail , means imposing further conditionsafter bail is granted, or altering or rescinding conditions; young person means a person who has attained the age offourteen and is under the age of sixteen. (2) Where a written law which relates to bail in criminalproceedings refers to the person bailed appearing before a Court,it is to be construed, unless the context otherwise requires, asreferring to his surrendering himself into the custody of the Court.

8 4. This Act applies (a) to an offence committed in Trinidad and Tobagoor elsewhere; and (b) to an extraditable offence under the Extradition(Commonwealth and Foreign Territories) VERSION UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2015 MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal Chap. 4:60 BailLAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOE ligibility which bailmay be denied.[19 of 200512 of 2012].Ch. 13 46:01. 5. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a Court may grant bail toany person charged with any offence other than an offence listedin Part I of the First Schedule. (2) A Court shall not grant bail to a person who ischarged with an offence listed in Part II of the First Schedule andhas been convicted on three occasions arising out of separatetransactions (a) of any offence; or (b) of any combination of offences,listed in that Part, unless on application to a Judge he can showsufficient cause why his remand in custody is not justified.

9 (3) In calculating the three prior convictions referred toin subsection (2), only those convictions recorded within the lastten years shall be taken into account. 6. (1) In this section (a) default , in relation to the defendant, means adefault for which he is to be dealt with undersection 10 of the Probation of Offenders Act; (b) references to previous grants to bail in criminalproceedings include a reference to bail grantedbefore the coming into operation of this Act; (c) references to a defendant s being kept in custodyor being in custody include, where a defendant isa child or young person, his being kept in a placeof detention provided under Part X of theChildren Act.

10 (d) the question whether an offence is one which ispunishable with imprisonment shall bedetermined without regard to any enactmentprohibiting or restricting the imprisonment ofyoung offenders or first offenders. (2) Where the offence or one of the offences of which thedefendant is accused in the proceedings is punishable withUNOFFICIAL VERSION UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2015 MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal bail Chap. 4:60 7 LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOCh. 14 , it shall be within the discretion of the Court todeny bail to the defendant in the following circumstances: (a) where the Court is satisfied that there aresubstantial grounds for believing that thedefendant, if released on bail would (i) fail to surrender to custody; (ii) commit an offence while on bail ; or (iii) interfere with witnesses or otherwiseobstruct the course of justice, whether inrelation to himself or any other person.