Year: 1953
Type: article
Abstract: IN this article it is proposed to review the present state of the law relating to the power to bind over to keep the peace and to be of good behaviour, particularly in the light ofthe recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Everett v. Ribbands.'It will be convenient to begin by setting out a passage from the judgment of Denning L.J. in this case."An order to find sureties . . .now bears many of the characteristics of a criminal proceeding. . . .The substance of the matter is, not only fear of what the accused man may do, but also a complaint of something he has already donesome words or conduct which give rise to apprehension o f disorder or other breach of the law.An order can only be made against the man if two things exist: first, a threat by words or conduct to break the law of the land or to do something which is likely to result in a breach; secondly, a reasonable fear that this threat w i l l be carried into effect.The order, once made, will result in imprisonment if the accused man has no friends to stand by him.This imprisonment must be founded on something actually done by him.It would be contrary to all principle for a man t o be punished, not for what he has already done, but for what he may hereafter do.Hence there must be something actually done by him, such as threats of violence, interference with the muse of justice, or other conduct which gives rise to the fear that there will be a breach of the law."Admirable as this is as a statement of what the law ought to be, it does not, unhappily, altogether represent the past, practice of the courts.The jurisdiction is twofold : t o bind over to keep the pewe (surety of the peace), and to bind over to be of good behaviour (surety of good behaviour).There is lack of an authoritative definition of what constitutes a breach of the peace.A battery is clearly a breach of the peace, and so is an assault in the sense of a threatened battery.A prize fight is a breach of the peace even He said: 1 [1952j 2 K.B. 198.
Source: Modern Law Review
Author: Glanville Williams
Institution: University of London
Language: English
Topic: Criminal Law and Policy
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2172162255