Members Area
    
 
   

CRIMINAL LAW

Bond to Keep the Peace

 Select Topic
 
 Related Topics
Feedback/Reviews/Blogs


BOND TO KEEP THE PEACE

A very infrequently used, but often effective, piece of law is the Application which can be made to the District Court under our Summary Proceedings Act 1957, for an Order that a certain named person enters into a Bond to keep the peace.

That person may not have committed any offence or crime which would allow the Police to lay a charge and have a District Court Judge impose perhaps a suspended sentence. 

The person, say a neighbour, might just have been making a right nuisance of him or herself.

The Court will not make an Order for trivial misbehaviour but the Court will act in the appropriate case.

We set out below the specific Section of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 which allows you to make such and application.

The Section you need to look at is Section 186 (b).

  • The Court can only make an order if there is good ground to do so and one of the conditions in s 186 exists.
  • The bond is a sum of money, and the person against whom the order is made undertakes to keep the peace and not do the feared or threatened act or repeat the conduct complained of.
  • The bond lasts for one year.
  • For an order to be made under s 186(a), the Court must also be satisfied that the complainant has just cause for his or her fear.
  • For an order under s 186(b), the Court must consider that the conduct complained of is likely to be repeated and may tend to provoke a breach of the peace.
  • Under s 186(c), the Court must be satisfied that there is just cause for fear that the accused will, if not prevented, carry out the threats.

The following case is of some interest :

Williams v Police 28-

.....The first part of this topic has been displayed free of charge. Join up for $45 to have access to this and all other topics!


Feedback/Reviews/Blogs
"Interesting, but also see the very helpful Harrassment Act topic which is a beaut! I am curently going to use the Bond thing against my neighbours who are deliberately throwing rocks over on to our lawn. Dick - Hamilton - April 2007."
"Complicated but it fits in with the Harrassment Act and trespass Notices and I see you have both topics.
Leigh - Kati Kati "

"How frequently are these used? My neighbours throw abuse across the fence every single day. They also throw little pieces of rubbish on to my back lawn. I can put up with so much but every day?? KL - Manurewa

Netlaw replies - Not very often. the Judges don't like them and prefer the Police to handle neighbour disputes. But there are times when they should be granted."

Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Animals
"I found this interesting. I want to sue for punitive damages and I was interested to learn that our courts are pretty conservative. I think the Welfare have quite wrongly taken my kids and I have found out that the affidavit they gave to a Judge to get an order to uplift them was known to the Welfare to be incorrect. They told the Judge that I had drug convictions but when I found out 5 months ago that they thought that I proved then to them that this was untrue yet I have now found that they have still put this false evidence in an affidavit. But they have also told other people about my "drug convictions". You have to watch these people. (name witheld) - May 2007"
Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Animals
"The fact examples or samples really helped me. Your topic also gave me confidence to speak up for myself. My case was a simple car accident but the other driver wouldn't pay and my lawyer was going to charge me $700 just to help. Netlaw allowed me successfully to "go it alone". Thanks. Thanks. I am on to making my own will now. Miriam (and hubbie)"
Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Animals
"Thanks Netlaw,
The Judge has all the lengthy affidavits, photos etc and I agree he would really need to see the site. Will give it a shot and thanks for your prompt response and encouragement.
Cheers . . . . Barry "

Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Animals
"Bastard Noise control officers! What can you do? I don't mind really noisy things being stopped but the officers don't seem to realise who is a genuine complainant and who is just a difficult neighbour.

Steve H. Auckland"

"Would you have any information or help on neighbour with a noisy car REVERSE parking his car with difficulty causing noise disturbance at night, Also may visitors of his boarders come up and down and the driveway at night causing a lot of car noise. Jon

Netlaw replies: A really difficult problem.

Traffic enforcement through the police will not get involved unless the noisy vehicle is being operated on a public road and, even then, prosecutions for a noisy vehicle usually relate to a specific matter such as a car with no exhaust.

Noise control officers with your local Council will find it very difficult to take steps because their powers do not involve prosecutions and punishments but rather involve steps to control noise at any one particular time.

Technically, you can bring a civil action in what is known as the tort of nuisance, but this is time-consuming and fairly costly and usually used only an industrial situations or in urban areas where a neighbour is running a workshop with electric machinery all hours of the night.

You are therefore left, in practical terms, only with approaching the neighbour, perhaps with the assistance of a third person mediator, to try and resolve the matter.

There are no cheap, quick and easy legal remedies apart from the matters referred to above.

Hope this short overview helps.


"

Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Animals
"My wife and I found this a valuable site. We discovered that the Court staff were not very helpful so if you are filing your own papers then you should make sure you convince them that you know what you are talking about. In the end, the Court staff realised that we knew as much as any lawyer on the topic and we won most of what we wanted. Thanks to you people at Netlaw.

G & J June 2007"

"Hi Richard
I would like to get your thoughts on a proposal I am thinking of putting to our neighbours at a Settlement Conference on Monday. They have applied for an Order to have trees removed in our property under Section 129C of the Property Law Act 1952. It looks unlikely that either party will concede so I was going to suggest that both parties agree to the Conference Judge making a decision based on the facts presented and on the Property Law Act provisions. We would agree to abide by the decision and not appeal providing our neighbours agreed to do the same. This would save the expense and time of a full Court hearing if we otherwise dont reach settlement through the Monday Conference. The outcome should be the same-we are both representing ourselves. I guess if the Judge decides an Order for removal should be made he would have to formalise this through a Court procedure in terms of the Property Law Act but hopefully not through a normal hearing. Would appreciate your comments on this approach. Has it been done to your knowledge, is it feasible, are there any fatal flaws in the idea ?
Cheers Barry C. June 2007"

"Good Morning,

Anything can be done as a Judicial Settlement Conference provided it is done "by consent". We have not heard of a binding decision being made by a Judge at such a Conference in the Civil Court but is has been done by agreement in the Family Court particularly in the urgent situations of Christmas access being arranged at the last minute and the Judge convening a Mediation Conference and both parties agreeing that the Judge can determine such access on the facts.

But there is nothing to stop you trying to persuade the other side to let the Judge make a decision the Judicial Settlement Conference. However, the Judge would have to have all of the information before him or her at the time and this will include photographs and possibly even going out to have a "view" of the site. We have long advocated that there ought to be a system like this within our judicial system, perhaps by way of a souped up Disputes Tribunal presided over by a trained but energetic and innovative legally trained Referee. But we have not got to that stage yet.

By all means, give it your best shot on Monday. Put your case forward in a very well-prepared manner and be totally objective and fair-minded. you may well find that the Conference proceeds in a way favourable view and therefore you are entitled to drop into the discussions from time to time "Well, Judge, why cannot be settled on that basis?" You might well find that the other side does settle and agree and the Judge this then able to wrap it all up with an appropriate order.

Best of luck . . . Netlaw
"

"Thanks Netlaw
The Judge has all the lengthy affidavits, photos etc and I agree he would really need to see the site. Will give it a shot and thanks for your prompt response and encouragement.
Cheers . . . Barry - June 21 2007
"

"Bloody, bloody, bloody helpful. Worth the $45 alone!!! I threatened my neighbours (nicely) with a letter and a bundle of the documents you suggested and they agreed to take down two trees. No lawyers involved. You guys empowered me and I did it myself, successfully. Jim D. Blenheim"
"Thanks Netlaw,
You really gave us the tools to go into court and have a confidance that we were doing the right thing. After 4 court sessions we agreed with our neighbour on the work to be done and a consent order was issued by the court. The trees are now gone and we can look forward to sunlight on our house in the winter. You are helping average joe kiwi to get his rights.
Thanks, Matt - Taupo, February 2008
"

Feedback/Blogs/Reviews from related topic: Animals
"Just what I wanted. I wandered around and around my search engines and could not get a document to download. Netlaw provided it! Sara. Hamilton. June 2007"
"Excellent. I found it easy too. I also looked at the Harrassment topic. It was very easy to understand. A local cop served the Trespass notice for me. He said they don't do it all the time but in my circumstances (urgency) the police were prepared to help. But your topic allowed me to do my own Notice and I really felt better for sticking up for myself. Donna - North Shore June 2007"
"Helpful for me. Thanks - Lee - Harwood"
"Helpful and straightforward. I like you Trespass Notice and easy tips for service etc. Hone. Auckland"
 Select Topic
 
 Related Topics