Recognizance

In some common law nations, a recognizance is a conditional pledge of money made by a person before a court. If a person breaks the conditions upon which they were released on their own recognizance, they or their sureties will forfeit the money pledged. It is an obligation of record, entered into before a court or magistrate duly authorized, whereby the party bound acknowledges (recognizes) that they owe a personal debt to the state. A recognizance is subject to a "defeasance"; that is, the obligation will be avoided if the person bound does some particular act, such as appearing in court on a particular day or keeping the peace. In criminal cases the concept is used as a form of bail both when a person has been charged but not tried and when a person has been found guilty at trial as an incentive not to commit further misconduct. The concept of a recognizance exists in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, and the United States. Recognizances were frequently used by courts of quarter sessions; for example, they make up more than 70% of surviving records of the Bedfordshire quarter sessions.