or the person bailed to bind himself as a party. The undertaking to forfeit a particular sum in a written bail bond came later in the courseof time. The purpose of a bail bond with sureties is to insure that the accused will appear in court at a given time by requiring others to assume responsibility for him on penalty of forfeiture of their property. In times past, especially when the sureties were friends and relatives of the accused, it was assumed that due to his personal relationship the threat offorfeiture of the surety's property would serve as an effective deterrent to the accused's temptation to break the conditions of the bond by flight. On the other hand, it was assumed that this threat would also inspire the surety to keep close watch on theaccused to prevent his absconding. On a bail bond, the accused and the sureties are the obligors, the accused being the principal, and the government as the obliged. In the event the conditions of the bail bond are satisfied, the obligation is void: the accused and his sureties are exonerated; and any cash or other securities deposited are returned to them. If there is a breach of the bail bond's conditions, however, the obligation remains in full force, and the accused and hissureties are liable to the government for the sum stated. A forfeiture of the bond willbe declared on default; but in the interests of justice the forfeiture may be set aside or,if entered, its execution may be stayed or the penalty remitted. For example, the surrender of the principal after forfeiture does not discharge the surety but nevertheless the court may receive the surrender and remit the penalty in whole or in part. As in the past, the sureties on a bail bond in England are still the friends and relatives of the accused. Consequently, the relationship between them remains personal and the accused's natural sense of moral obligation to satisfy the conditions of the bond is strong. As a result the English ex...
