recognizance

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For more information on recognizance, visit Britannica.com.

A recorded obligation, entered into before a tribunal, in which an individual pledges to perform a specific act or to subscribe to a certain course of conduct.

For example, an individual who owes money might enter into a recognizance whereby she agrees to satisfy the debt.

In criminal law, an individual who has been found guilty of an offense can be mandated to enter into a recognizance whereby she agrees to keep the peace in the future. An individual who has been accused but not yet convicted of a criminal offense may be allowed to go free prior to the trial without being required to post a bail bond. The accused individual provides the court with a formal written statement, which declares that his failure to appear will precipitate payment to the court of a specifically indicated sum of money. This is known as a release on one's own recognizance, or personal recognizance.

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In some common law nations, a recognizance is a conditional obligation undertaken by a person before a court. It is an obligation of record, entered into before a court or magistrate duly authorized, whereby the party bound acknowledges (recognizes) that he owes a personal debt to the state. A recognizance is subject to a "defeasance"; that is, the obligation will be avoided if person bound does some particular act, such as appearing in court on a particular day, or keeping the peace. The concept of a recognizance exists in Scotland, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States. People who are released on their own recognizance are subject to appearing before a judge on a certain day in the near future.

Recognizances are most often encountered regarding bail in criminal cases. By filing a bail bond with the court, the defendant will usually be released from imprisonment pending a trial or appeal. If no bail has been set, the defendants are released "on their own recognizance". Release on recognizance is sometimes abbreviated as RoR, or, particularly in the United States, OR.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - sikkerhedsstillelse, kaution (jur.)

Nederlands (Dutch)
borgtocht, belofte aan rechter met borg als onderpand

Français (French)
n. - (Jur) engagement (devant un tribunal), caution

Deutsch (German)
n. - Verpflichtung, Kaution

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - υπεγγυότητα

Italiano (Italian)
cauzione, identificazione

Português (Portuguese)
n. - reconhecimento (f)

Русский (Russian)
распоряжение суда, обязательство данное в суде

Español (Spanish)
n. - fianza, compromiso

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - borgensumma

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
保证书, 保释金, 保证金

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 保證書, 保釋金, 保證金

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 승인, 인지, 서약, 보석금

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 誓約, 誓約保証金

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) كفاله, الإقرار الإلتزامي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ערבות, התחייבות‬

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