Immigration and Asylum Bill

Immigration and Asylum Bill - continued	House of Commons

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	PART III
	BAIL
	Routine bail hearings
Bail hearings for detained persons.	29. - (1) This section applies if a person is detained under-
	(a) any provision of the 1971 Act; or
	(b) section 7(4) of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 (curtailment of leave to enter or remain).
	(2) The Secretary of State must arrange a reference to the court for it to determine whether the detained person should be released on bail.
	(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the detained person-
	(a) is also detained otherwise than under a provision mentioned in subsection (1); or
	(b) notifies the Secretary of State, in writing, that he does not wish his case to be referred to a court under this section.
	(4) The Secretary of State must secure that a first reference to the court is made-
	(a) in the case of a reference to the Commission, in accordance with rules; and
	(b) in any other case, no earlier than the fifth, and no later than the ninth, day following that on which the detained person was detained.
	(5) If the detained person remains in detention, the Secretary of State must secure that a second reference to the court is made-
	(a) in the case of a reference to the Commission, in accordance with rules; and
	(b) in any other case, no earlier than the thirty-third, and no later than the thirty-seventh, day following that on which the detained person was detained.
	(6) The court hearing a case referred to it under this section must proceed as if the detained person had made an application to it for bail.
	(7) The court must determine the matter-
	(a) in the case of a reference to the Commission, in accordance with rules; and
	(b) in any other case-
	(i) on a first reference, before the tenth day following that on which the person concerned was detained; and
	(ii) on a second reference, before the thirty-eighth day following that on which he was detained.
	(8) Subsection (7) does not apply if the detained person has been released or has given notice under subsection (3)(b).
	(9) If it appears to the Secretary of State that there has been a failure to comply with subsection (4) or (5), he must refer the matter to the court, and the court must deal with the reference, as soon as is reasonably practicable.
	(10) If it appears to the Secretary of State that there has been a failure to comply with subsection (7), he must notify the court concerned, and the court must deal with the matter, as soon as is reasonably practicable.
	(11) In this Part "court" means-
	(a) if the detained person has brought an appeal under this Act, the court dealing with his appeal;
	(b) in the case of a detained person to whom section 3(2) of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 applies (jurisdiction in relation to bail for persons detained on grounds of national security), the Commission; and
	(c) in any other case, such magistrates' court as the Secretary of State considers appropriate or, in Scotland, an adjudicator.
	(12) "Commission" means the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
	(13) Rules made by the Lord Chancellor under section 5 of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 may include provision made for the purposes of this section; and in subsections (4), (5) and (7) "rules" means rules made by virtue of this subsection.
	(14) This section does not affect any other provision under which the detained person may apply for, or be released on, bail.
Location of bail hearings.	30. - (1) The Secretary of State may, in relation to a particular case, direct that the hearing of a reference under section 29 is to be at a specified place.
	(2) The places that may be specified include, in particular-
	(a) any place at which a court sits;
	(b) any place at which appeals under this Act are heard;
	(c) detention centres;
	(d) prisons; or
	(e) any particular premises or rooms within a place of a kind mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d).
	(3) "Specified" means specified in the direction.
Power to grant bail.	31. - (1) On a reference under section 29, the court may release the detained person but only if he enters into a recognizance or, in Scotland, a bail bond.
	(2) The recognizance or bond must include a condition requiring the person bailed to appear before an immigration officer-
	(a) at a time and place named in the recognizance or bond; or
	(b) at such other time and place as may be notified to him in writing by an immigration officer.
	(3) The conditions of a recognizance or bond taken under this section may include conditions appearing to the court to be likely to result in the appearance of the person bailed at the required time and place.
	(4) A recognizance taken under this section may be with or without sureties, as the court may determine.
	(5) If a court has power under this section to release a person on bail, it may, instead of taking the bail, fix the amount and conditions of the bail (including the amount in which any sureties are to be bound) with a view to the bail being taken subsequently by any such person as may be specified; and on the recognizance or bond being so taken, the person to be bailed must be released.
Forfeiture.	32. - (1) If it appears to a court which has taken a recognizance under section 31 that the recognizance has been forfeited, it may-
	(a) by order declare the recognizance to be forfeited; and
	(b) order any person bound by the recognizance (whether as principal or surety) to pay the sum in which he is bound or such part of that sum, if any, as the court thinks fit.
	(2) If a person fails to comply with any of the conditions of a bail bond taken by a court under section 31, the court may declare the bail to be forfeited.
	(3) Any bail forfeited by an adjudicator under subsection (2)-
	(a) must be transmitted by him to the sheriff court having jurisdiction in the area where the proceedings took place; and
	(b) is to be treated as having been forfeited by that court.
Power of arrest.	33. - (1) An immigration officer or constable who has reasonable grounds for believing that a person released on a reference under section 29 has broken, is breaking or is likely to break any condition of his recognizance or bail bond, may arrest him without a warrant.
	(2) Subsection (3) applies if a recognizance with sureties was taken.
	(3) If an immigration officer or constable is notified in writing by a surety-
	(a) of his belief that a person released on a reference under section 29 is likely to break the condition of his recognizance or bail bond that he will appear at the time and place required; and
	(b) of the surety's wish, for that reason, to be relieved of his obligations as a surety,
	the officer or constable may arrest the person released without a warrant.
	(4) Subsection (5) applies if-
	(a) a justice of the peace is, by written information on oath, satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person liable to be arrested under this section is to be found on any premises; or
	(b) in Scotland, a sheriff or a justice of the peace is by evidence on oath so satisfied.
	(5) The justice of the peace or the sheriff may grant a warrant authorising any immigration officer or constable to enter, if need be by force, the premises named in the warrant for the purpose of searching for and arresting the person concerned.
	(6) A person arrested under this section must, if required by a condition on which he was released to appear before an immigration officer within 24 hours after his arrest, be brought before an immigration officer within that period.
	(7) If subsection (6) does not apply, a person arrested under this section must, as soon as is practicable after his arrest, be brought before-
	(a) a justice of the peace acting for the petty sessions area in which he was arrested; or
	(b) in Scotland, an adjudicator or, if that is not practicable within 24 hours after his arrest, the sheriff.
	(8) Subsections (9) and (10) apply in relation to an arrested person brought before a justice of the peace, adjudicator or sheriff under subsection (7).
	(9) If the justice, adjudicator or sheriff is of the opinion that the arrested person has broken or is likely to break any condition on which he was released, he may-
	(a) give a direction that the arrested person be detained under the authority of the person by whom he was arrested;
	(b) release him on his original recognizance or original bail; or
	(c) release him on a new recognizance (with or without sureties) or on new bail.
	(10) If the justice, adjudicator or sheriff is not of that opinion, he must release the arrested person on his original recognizance or original bail.

Prepared 9 February 1999