Understanding Bail and Guarantee in the UAE

Bail is defined as a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed against a person to ensure that he will comply with a judicial process. It is a conditional release with a promise to appear before the court when required to do so.

In the UAE, the bail may be in the form of a financial guarantee or personal guarantee. A financial guarantee is the simplest form of bail as it refers to the payment of a certain amount for temporary release, while the personal guarantee is a concept by which a person or an entity certifies the compliance of the accused with any court process. It is widely known that a breach of the conditions of the bail will forfeit the financial guarantee in favor of the government, but what about the personal guarantee?

In this jurisdiction, a personal guarantee is a guarantee of a third person, or in rare cases an entity, like the accused’s employer or consulate.

Upon the Court’s order, both the accused and the guarantor (if a personal guarantee is a third person) will sign the Bail Bond which will include the charge against the accused, the accused and the guarantor’s personal details, the penalty due in case of violation and the undertaking statement. The undertaking statement will normally include the statements 1) that the guarantor will be liable for the accused’s attendance in court, on the execution of the judgment and 2) that the guarantor accepts the liability as regards the aggrieved party, including any penalties, compensation and subsequent civil action.

The above-mentioned liability of the guarantor will only be terminated 1) once the judgment is executed against the accused, or 2) the accused is completely and irrevocably exonerated from the charge.

Gleaning from the above rules and procedure, the guarantor’s liability appears to be equal to that of the accused, hence, anyone who plans to act as one should be fully aware of his role and the conditions set in the Bail Bond and the Guarantee Bond.