In the

law of England and Wales English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

and some other

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

jurisdictions, binding over is an exercise of certain powers by the criminal courts used to deal with low-level public order issues. Both

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

s and the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and W ...

may issue binding-over orders in certain circumstances.

In the United Kingdom

In a 1988 article in the ''

Cambridge Law Journal ''The Cambridge Law Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic law journal, and the principal academic publication of the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. It is published by Cambridge University Press, and is the longest established university ...

'', British legal commentator David Feldman describes the power to "bind people over to be of good behaviour or to keep the peace" as a useful and common device used in the British

criminal justice system Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

, and explains the process as follows: The origins of the binding-over power are rooted in (1) the takings of sureties of the peace, which "emerged from the peace-keeping arrangements of

Anglo-Saxon law Anglo-Saxon law (Old English ''ǣ'', later ''lagu'' "law"; dōm "decree, judgment") is a body of written rules and customs that were in place during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, before the Norman conquest. This body of law, along with early ...

, extended by the use of the

royal prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...

and royal

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

s" and (2) the separate device of sureties of good behavior, which originated as a type of conditional

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

given by the king. The modern statutory authorization for binding-over powers is found in the Justices of the Peace Act 1361 and

Justices of the Peace Act 1968 A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility a ...

. Section 150 of the

Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 The Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c.6) is a consolidation Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that brings together parts of several other Acts dealing with the sentencing treatment of offenders and defaulters. It w ...

empowered the criminal courts to "bind over a parent/guardian of a convicted youth to take proper care and exercise proper control" over the youth.

Outside the UK

Binding-over orders are a feature of the

law of Hong Kong The law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has its foundation in the English common law system, inherited from being a former British colony and dependent territory. There are several sources of law, the primary ones being statut ...

.Simon N.M. Young, "Sentencing" in ''Understanding Criminal Justice in Hong Kong'' (eds. Wing Hong Chui & T. Wing Lo: Routledge, 2008), pp. 170-76.

References

{{reflist English legal terminology

In the United Kingdom

Outside the UK

See also

References