Gonzalez v Att Gen

• Jurisdiction: Cayman Islands
• Judge: (Summerfield, C.J.)
• Judgment Date: 03 September 1984
• Court: Grand Court (Cayman Islands)
• Date: 03 September 1984

Grand Court

(Summerfield, C.J.)

GONZALEZ

and

ATTORNEY GENERAL

D. Muirhead, Q. C. and S. McField for the applicant;

A.S. Smellie, Crown Counsel, for the Attorney General.

Legislation construed:

Criminal Procedure Code (Law 13 of 1975),”s.27(1):

‘Where any person, other than a person accused of murder or treason, appears or is brought before a court, or is committed for trial by any such court, and is prepared at any time or at any stage in the proceedings before such court to give bail, such person may in the discretion of the court be admitted to bail with or without a surety or sureties.’

Summary Jurisdiction Law (Law 10 of 1975), s.22:

‘Subject to the provisions of any other law, the jurisdiction vested in the courts shall be exercised . . . in substantial conformity with the practice and procedure for the time being observed in England in equivalent courts of criminal or civil jurisdiction in similar proceedings.’

Jurisprudence-reception of English Law-incorporation of English law-English legislation not taken as guide to bail powers, in absence of local provision, when offence charged and punishment scale have no equivalent in English law

Criminal Procedure-bail-factors to be considered-seriousness of offence charged, strength of prosecution case, severity of likely penalty on conviction, strength of temptation to evade trial, ease of escape from jurisdiction without loss of material assets, relevant considerations on application for bail under Criminal Procedure Code, s.27

The applicant applied for bail under the Criminal Procedure Code, s.27 while awaiting trial for serious offences involving hard drugs.

The applicant submitted that since, in the absence of any local law governing the exercise of the power to grant or refuse bail under s.27 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Summary Jurisdiction Law, s.22 imported the practice and procedure of the equivalent court in England, when considering his application for bail the court should be guided by the relevant English provisions, in particular the Criminal Justice Act 1967, s.18, the Magistrates” Courts Act 1952 and the Bail Act 1976. In the light of these provisions, he submitted, it would be appropriate to grant bail since there was little risk that he would attempt to evade his forthcoming trial by going abroad, having a considerable number of ties to the jurisdiction. He relied in particular upon the fact that he had Caymanian status (although originally unconnected...