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himself/herself bound over for a longer period than that of the period of suspension or
alternativelyfor a shorter period. In either case, if an issue arises in respect of activation of
the sentence, this may cause significant difficulties in determining whether the person was
actually bound over for the entirety of the operative period of the suspension. In the
example given above the two year period of custody which is suspended for two years
would be incapable of activation if there was a breach during the third year while the
convicted person is bound over by the three year bond. The bond therefore should have
been coterminous with the periodof suspension.
Moreover, as O’Siochain has observed “at the end of the specified period, if the
recognisance is kept, there is a complete discharge” (1977:27). Accordingly, the operative
period of the suspended sentence should never exceed the time fixed in anypeace bond to
secure good behaviour andusuallyboth periods are specifiedas the same.
A recognisance is a promise to paythe State a sum of moneyin the event of failing to fulfil
conditions. However, the real purpose of a recognisance is to secure the compliance with
conditions of a suspended sentence and has precious little to do with making payment in
default to the State for breach of conditions. It is arguedhere that the true purpose of the
requirement obliging the convicted person to enter a recognisance is centred around the
actual mechanism of the bond itself wherebythe prosecution mayserve notice to have the
accused returned to court for breach of a condition of the bond and seek the activation of
the sentence rather than the extraction of any payment of surety. In the statutory
suspended sentence which will be discussed in the next chapter, the mandatory bond may
be secured on the signature of the offender alone without the necessity to provide either a
personal or independent surety(Rules of the District Court 1997, Order 28a). Anecdotally,
the writer is not aware of any order of a court directing payment of a surety including any
independent suretyon foot of breach proceedings. However, he is aware of the use of the
breach procedure itself to activate the custodial sentence suspended without reference to
anyapplication to estreat the suretyof the bond.
Thus in practice, the estreatment of sureties on the breach of a bond is rarely addressed as
an issue. Instead, the court will focus upon the substantive issue of the breach itself and
address instead the issue of activation of the sentence. Rarely is the estreatment of sureties
addressedwhen dealingwith a revocation of a suspendedsentence
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