Editing Bail (section)

=== United Kingdom ===
==== England and Wales ====
{{Main|Bail in the United Kingdom}}

In the modern English bail system, monetary payments play a very small role. Securities and sureties can be taken as conditions for being granted bail, but these amounts are not excessive. Wider restrictions such as [[curfews]], [[electronic tagging|electronic monitoring]], presenting at a [[police station]], and limits on meeting specific people or going to specific places are more common conditions.

Bail is regulated primarily by the [[Bail Act 1976]] and the [[Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984]], both of which have been heavily amended by later legislation such as the [[Policing and Crime Act 2017]].<ref name="gmpbail">{{cite news |title=Pre-Charge Bail and Release Under Investigation Procedure |url=https://www.gmp.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/greater-manchester/policies/pre-charge-bail-and-release-under-investigation-procedure-june-2020-web.pdf |publisher=Greater Manchester Police |date=June 2020 |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817213743/https://www.gmp.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/greater-manchester/policies/pre-charge-bail-and-release-under-investigation-procedure-june-2020-web.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Bail Act 1976 was enacted with the aims of creating more conditions by which defendants could be denied bail and also redefining the parameters of fulfilling bail. The Bail Act also nullified the recognizance system, removing the requirement of paying a specific amount of money and instead arresting defendants for failing to surrender. The Bail Act created a [[rights|qualified right]] to be granted bail before conviction, except for when certain factors applied.<ref>s4 Bail Act 1976 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/63/section/4)</ref> This does not guarantee a person will get bail, but it places the onus on the prosecution to demonstrate why bail should be refused in preference to custody.

In England and Wales there are three types of bail that can be given:<ref>[https://archive.today/20120724134922/http://www.dorset.police.uk/default.aspx?page=1024 "Bail Conditions"], [[Dorset Police]]. Retrieved 30 December 2008.</ref>
* '''Police bail'''. A suspect is released without being charged but must return to the police station at a stated time. Normally this is limited to 28 days.<ref>https://www.gov.uk/government/news/28-day-pre-charge-bail-limit-comes-into-force</ref>
* '''Police to court'''. After being charged, a suspect is given bail but must attend their first court hearing at the date and Court stated.
* '''Court bail'''. After a court hearing, a suspect is granted bail pending further investigation or while the case continues.

==== Scotland ====
Bail can be granted by any of the [[courts of Scotland]], with the final decision in [[solemn proceedings]] being with the [[High Court of Justiciary]]. All crimes are bailable, and bail should be granted to any accused person "except where there is good reason for refusing bail". The [[Bail, Judicial Appointments etc. (Scotland) Act 2000]], an Act of the Scottish Parliament, had removed the previous restrictions on bail that meant that murder and treason were not ordinarily bailable.<ref name="act_2000_c9">{{Cite legislation Scotland|act=Bail, Judicial Appointments etc. (Scotland) Act 2000|chapter=9|year=2000|type=act}}</ref> However, a person could be bailed when accused of these crimes on application of the [[Lord Advocate]] or by a decision of the High Court itself.<ref name="south_africa_compare2" /> The [[Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007]] reintroduced restrictions on the granting of bail by requiring exceptional circumstances to be shown when a person is accused of a violent, sexual or drugs offence, and they have a prior conviction for a similar offence.<ref name="act_2007_c6">{{Cite legislation Scotland|act=Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007|chapter=6|type=act|year=2007}}</ref>

In Scotland, the focus is normally for those who are opposed to bail to convince the courts that bail should not be granted,<ref name="south_africa_compare2">{{Cite journal|last=Wilson|first=John G.|date=1965|editor-last=Hahlo|editor-first=H.R.|editor2-last=Kahn|editor2-first=Ellison|title=Pre-Trial Criminal Procedure in Scotland: A Comparative Study|journal=The South African Law Journal|volume=LXXXII|issue=2|pages=192–209}}</ref> with the [[procurator fiscal]] given guidance to use the nature and gravity of an offence as grounds to oppose bail.<ref name="regulations_c8">{{Cite web|url=http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/images/Documents/Prosecution_Policy_Guidance/Book_of_Regulations/Book%20of%20Regulations%20-%20Chapter%208%20-%20Bail.PDF|title=Chapter 8 – Bail {{!}} Book of Regulations|date=December 2007|website=crownoffice.gov.uk|publisher=Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service|page=3|access-date=7 May 2017|archive-date=3 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003050924/http://www.crownoffice.gov.uk/images/Documents/Prosecution_Policy_Guidance/Book_of_Regulations/Book%20of%20Regulations%20-%20Chapter%208%20-%20Bail.PDF|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A person who is refused bail can appeal against the refusal to either the [[Sheriff Appeal Court]] for summary proceedings in the [[Sheriff Court]]s and [[Justice of the Peace Court]]s and solemn proceedings in the Sheriff Courts, or to the High Court of Justiciary when a case is on trial there.<ref name="appealsheriffs">{{cite web|last1=Agency|first1=The Zen|title=An overview of the new Sheriff Appeal Court|url=http://www.bto.co.uk/blog/is-orange-the-new-black-when-it-comes-to-the-new-system-for-appeals-in-scotland.aspx|website=bto.co.uk|publisher=BTO Solicitors LLP|access-date=3 April 2017|language=en|date=30 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="criminaljustice">{{cite web|last1=McCallum|first1=Frazer|title=The Scottish Criminal Justice System:The Criminal Courts|url=http://www.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefingsAndFactsheets/S5/SB_16-46_The_Scottish_Criminal_Justice_System-The_Criminal_Courts.pdf|website=parliament.scot|publisher=Scottish Parliament Information Centre|access-date=6 April 2017|date=1 June 2016|archive-date=7 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407055256/http://www.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefingsAndFactsheets/S5/SB_16-46_The_Scottish_Criminal_Justice_System-The_Criminal_Courts.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The High Court of Justiciary has final authority to decide all bail decisions, and will decide on bail appeals for cases before the High Court on first instance. A [[Procurator Fiscal]] or [[Advocate Depute]] can request the High Court to review any bail decision where they believe that bail should not have been granted.<ref name="glasgow_law_practice">{{cite web|title=A Guide to Bail Conditions in Scotland|url=https://www.theglasgowlawpractice.co.uk/crime/a-guide-to-bail-conditions-in-scotland.html|website=theglasgowlawpractice.co.uk|publisher=The Glasgow Law Practice|access-date=7 May 2017|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name="act_1995_">{{Cite legislation UK|type=act|year=1995|chapter=46|act=Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995}}</ref>