The Minister of Justice applied for the forfeiture of recognizances entered into by sureties for two individuals who failed to surrender into custody pending their extradition proceedings.
The Court of Appeal reconsidered the test for estreatment, rejecting both a strict rule of total forfeiture and a purely fault-based approach.
Instead, the court affirmed a broad discretionary approach where the surety's diligence is one of several factors, balanced against the need to maintain the 'pull of bail'.
Applying these principles, the court ordered full forfeiture for one surety who lacked diligence and was likely complicit, and partial forfeiture for the other sureties based on financial hardship, the subsequent apprehension of one fugitive, and the excessive amount of the original bail.
