Bind over, binding over order or bind over for sentence is a legal term relating to a power exercised by magistrates in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and in other common law jurisdictions such as Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

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Magistrates can bind over to be of good behaviour or to keep the peace

Queen's peace

The Queen's peace is the term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe the protection the monarch, in right of each state, provides to his or her subjects...

, any person such as a defendant

Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...

, witness

Witness

A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...

 or complainant. This may happen where the case involves violence or the threat of it. Sometimes the prosecution will drop such a charge if the defendant agrees to be bound over in this way. No conviction

Conviction

In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...

 will be recorded if the matter is settled via a binding over order because the order is regarded as a civil

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

 matter.

A magistrate has legal power to make orders to prevent a likely breach of the peace and, on evidence produced before him, may require a person, on pain of six months’ imprisonment on refusal, to enter into a recognizance

Recognizance

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 that he owes a personal debt to the state...

 and find sureties either to keep the peace or to be of good behaviour. The procedure is called ‘binding over to keep the peace’ and upon complaint by any person, the magistrate may hear the complainant, the defendant and witnesses, and if appropriate, may make the order.

Binding over is a precautionary measure to be adopted when there are reasonable grounds to anticipate some present or future danger. It is not a conviction or a punishment. It should not be used for an act which is past and which is not likely to be repeated. It should not be used as an alternative measure for dealing with cases in which the prosecution has insufficient evidence to substantiate a charge.

Applications to bind a person over may be made in a variety of circumstances: e.g. for minor assaults inside private premises where there are no truly independent witnesses; continuing domestic disputes; or for minor cases where it is obvious that both parties are at fault with no independent evidence to support either party's counter-allegation.

Criminal conviction

Although a binding over order is not a conviction, such order may be imposed following conviction and sentence for a criminal offence, in addition to any penalty applied. A refusal to accept the terms of the binding over order may be treated as a contempt of court

Contempt of court

Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...

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