Bail Act (Chapter 340)

• Coming into Force: 03 November 1977
• Published date: 03 November 1977
• Revision Date: 01 October 2021
• Year: 1977
• Type of Document: Historic Legislation

Contenidos

• Bail Act (Chapter 340)
• PART I.—PRELIMINARY.
• 1. Interpretation.
• 2. Application.
• PART II.—GRANT OF BAIL BEFORE ACQUITTAL OR CONVICTION.
• 3. Object of Part II.
• 4. Only National or Supreme Court may grant bail in certain cases.
• 5. Bail to be granted by police in certain cases.
• 6. Application for bail may be made at any time.
• 7. Bail on adjournment.
• 8. Bail after committal for trial or sentence.
• 9. Bail not to be refused except on certain grounds.
• PART III.—GRANT OF BAIL AFTER CONVICTION.
• 10. Bail after conviction and before sentence.
• 11. Bail after lodging appeal.
• 12. Bail during hearing of appeal.
• PART IV.—PROCEDURE ON REFUSAL OF BAIL.
• 13. Further application may be made after refusal.
• PART V.—PROCEDURE ON GRANT OR REFUSAL OF BAIL.
• 14. Person granted bail need not be present.
• 15. Bail certificate.
• 16. Reasons for refusing bail to be given and recorded.
• PART VI.—OBLIGATIONS AND CONDITIONS RELATING TO BAIL.
• 17. Obligations of person granted bail.
• 18. Bail may be granted subject to conditions.
• 19. Guarantors.
• PART VII.—VARIATION, REVOCATION, ETC., OF BAIL.
• 20. Variation of bail.
• 21. Revocation of bail.
• 22. Forfeiture of security.
• PART VIII.—MISCELLANEOUS.
• 23. Permission to leave the country in certain cases.
• 24. Grant of bail under other laws.
• 25. Civil remedy for wrongful refusal to grant bail.
• 26. Abolition of certain common law powers and duties.
• 27. Regulations.
• 28. Offences.

Bail Act (Chapter 340)

INDEPENDENT STATE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA.

CHAPTER No. 340.

Bail Act.

Being an Act—

(a) to provide for bail to be granted more readily; and

(b) to abolish certain rules of common law,

and for other related purposes.

PART I.—PRELIMINARY.

1 Interpretation.

(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

"bail" means approval, whether or not subject to conditions, for the release of a person from custody;

"bail authority" means a person or court empowered or required under this Act or any other law to grant bail;

"bail certificate" means a certificate issued under Section 15;

"bail obligations", in relation to a person granted bail, means the obligations imposed on the person under Section 17;

"court" means any court, other than a Village Court, and includes a Judge or Magistrate of any court, other than of a Village Court;

"guarantor" means a person who undertakes to see that a person granted bail complies with his bail obligations;

"officer-in-charge", in relation to a police station at a particular time, means the policeman who is in charge of the police station at that time;

"place of confinement" means a corrective institution, rural lock-up or police lock-up;

"policeman" means a member of the Police Force.

(2) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) The Supreme Court shall be deemed to have jurisdiction higher than the jurisdiction of any other court; and

(b) a Judge of the National Court shall be deemed to have jurisdiction equal to the jurisdiction of every other Judge of the National Court; and

(c) the National Court and a Judge of the National Court shall be deemed to have jurisdiction higher than the jurisdiction of a court or Magistrate referred to in Paragraphs (d), (e) and (f); and

(d) a District Court and a Magistrate of a District Court shall be deemed to have jurisdiction equal to the jurisdiction of every other District Court and Magistrate of a District Court; and

(e) a District Court and a Magistrate of a District Court shall be deemed to have jurisdiction higher than the jurisdiction of a Local Court or a Magistrate of a Local Court; and

(f) a Local Court and a Magistrate of a Local Court shall be deemed to have jurisdiction equal to the jurisdiction of every other Local Court and Magistrate of a Local Court.

(3) For the purposes of this Act a person believes something on reasonable grounds if—

(a) he personally has that belief; and

(b) there are reasonable grounds for that belief.

2 Application.

Notwithstanding any other law, this Act applies to and in relation to a person arrested or detained for an offence.

PART II.—GRANT OF BAIL BEFORE ACQUITTAL OR CONVICTION.

Division 1.—General.

3 Object of Part II.

The object of this Part is to give effect to Section 42(6) (liberty of the person) of the Constitution which provides that a person arrested or detained for an offence (other than treason or wilful murder as defined by an Act of the Parliament) is entitled to bail at all times from arrest or detention and to acquittal or conviction unless the interests of justice otherwise require.

4 Only National or Supreme Court may grant bail in certain cases.

Section 4 repealed and replaced by the Bail (Amendment) Act 1993 (No. 11 of 1993).

(1) A person—

(a) charged with wilful murder, murder or an offence punishable by death; or

(b) charged with rape, abduction, piracy, burglary, stealing with violence or robbery, kidnapping, assault with intent to steal, or break and enter a building or dwelling-house, and in which a firearm is involved, irrespective of whether or not the firearm was actually used in the commission of the alleged offence,

shall not be granted bail except by the National Court or the Supreme Court.

(2) For the purposes of Subsection (1), "firearm" includes imitation firearm whether or not it is capable of projecting any kind of shot, bullet or missile.

Division 2.—Circumstances when Bail to be Considered.

5 Bail to be granted by police in certain cases.

Subject to Section 4, where—

(a) a person has been arrested for an offence and is held in custody at a police station or in the custody of a policeman; and

(b) in the opinion of—

(i) the officer-in-charge of that police station; or

(ii) a commissioned officer of the Police Force,

it is not practicable to bring the person before a court within a reasonable time,

the officer, at the time he forms that opinion, shall consider and accordingly grant or refuse bail to that person in accordance with Section 9.

6 Application for bail may be made at any time.

(1) An application for bail may be made to a court at any time after a person has been arrested or detained or at any stage of a proceeding.

(2) A court shall consider an application for bail at the time it is made unless it is satisfied that no steps that were reasonable in the circumstances have been taken to advise the informant that the application would be made.

(3) Subject to Section 4, the court shall grant or refuse bail in accordance with Section

7 Bail on adjournment.

Subject to Section 4, where a person is in custody in connexion with any proceedings, including proceedings for committal for trial or sentence in the National Court, the court shall, on each occasion that it adjourns the proceedings before conviction, consider and accordingly grant or refuse bail to that person in accordance with section 9.

8 Bail after committal for trial or sentence.

Subject to Section 4, where a court commits a person who is in custody for trial or sentence in the National Court, the court shall consider and accordingly grant or refuse bail to that person in accordance with Section 9.

Division 3.—Considerations Affecting Decision on Bail Matters.

9 Bail not to be refused except on certain grounds.

Section 9 amended by No. 11 of 1982, s1.

(1) Where a bail authority is considering the question of granting or refusing bail under this Part, it shall not refuse bail unless satisfied on reasonable grounds as to one or more of the following considerations:—

(a) that the person in custody is unlikely to appear at his trial if granted bail; or

(b) that the offence with which the person has been charged was committed whilst the person was on bail; or

(c) that the alleged act or any of the alleged acts constituting the offence in respect of which the person is in custody consists or consist of—

(i) a serious assault; or

(ii) a threat of violence to another person; or

(iii) having or possessing a firearm, imitation firearm, other offensive weapon or...