The Court Martial Appeal Court (Bail) Order 2009

Offence of absconding by persons on bail

10.—(1) If a person who has been granted bail under this Order fails without reasonable cause to surrender to custody he shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) If a person who—

(a) has been granted bail under this Order, and

(b) has failed with reasonable cause to surrender to custody,

fails to surrender to custody at the appointed place as soon after the appointed time as is reasonably practicable he shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) In proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) the defendant is to be treated as having had reasonable cause for failure unless sufficient evidence is adduced to raise an issue as to whether he had reasonable cause.

(4) A failure to give to a person granted bail under this Order a copy of the record of the decision shall not constitute a reasonable cause for that person’s failure to surrender to custody.

(5) An offence under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be triable summarily by a civil court in England or Wales (as well as being triable by the Court Martial).

(6) Where a magistrates’ court convicts a person of an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) the court may, if it thinks—

(a) that the circumstances of the offence are such that greater punishment should be inflicted for that offence than the court has power to inflict, or

(b) in a case where it commits that person for trial to the Crown Court for another offence, that it would be appropriate for him to be dealt with for the offence under paragraph (1) or (2) by the court before which he is tried for the other offence,

commit him in custody or on bail to the Crown Court for sentence.

(7) A person who is convicted summarily of an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) and is not committed to the Crown Court for sentence shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both, and a person who is so committed for sentence shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine or to both.

(8) A person who is convicted of an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) by the Court Martial shall be liable to any punishment mentioned in the Table in section 164 of the 2006 Act but any sentence of imprisonment imposed in respect of the offence shall not exceed 12 months.

(9) In any proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) a document purporting to be a copy of the part of the record which relates to the time and place appointed for the person specified in the record to surrender to custody and to be duly certified to be a true copy of that part of the record shall be evidence of the time and place appointed for that person to surrender to custody.

(10) For the purposes of paragraph (9)—

(a) “the record” means the record of the decision of the Court made in pursuance of article 9(1);

(b) the copy of the record is duly certified if it is certified by the registrar or such other person as may be authorised by him to act for the purpose.