Bound to the peace in Ireland: what the peace bond is and what it is not

"Bound to the peace" is one of the oldest orders a District Court judge can make, and one of the least understood. In 2025 it was used 792 times. It is not a fine, not a sentence and not a conviction. It is a promise, backed by money, to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a period the court fixes, and it is a common way for the court to close a row between neighbours, a scuffle outside a pub, or a first public order charge without leaving a conviction behind.

This guide explains what the bond is, where the power comes from, how the court uses it, the sum and the period, what breach means, how it is recorded, and how it differs from the Probation Act.

What the bond is

The order requires you to enter a recognisance, which is a formal written undertaking to the court, to keep the peace and be of good behaviour towards everyone, or towards a named person, for a stated period. The recognisance names a sum. You do not pay the sum when you sign; you forfeit it if you break the bond. Sometimes the court also requires a surety, someone who enters a bond for a sum of their own on your behalf.

The power comes from the common law, where it was exercised by justices of the peace for centuries, and from section 54 of the Courts of Justice Act 1936, which confirms that a District Court judge has the power to bind a person to the peace or to be of good behaviour, with or without sureties. The Courts Service glossary lists "recognisance" and "bound over" among the court's terms.

The bond is an order of the court. It is not a finding of guilt and it is not a conviction, and the Garda record of the case shows the order and not a conviction.

When the court uses it

The court uses the bond in two situations.

The first is where a charge is before it and the judge wants to close it without a conviction. A public order charge under section 4, 5 or 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994, a minor assault, a criminal damage charge arising from a dispute, a row that ended with both sides in court: the judge may bind one or both to the peace, with the charge dismissed or struck out. The public order guide and the section 2 assault guide explain the charges on which this is most common.

The second is alongside a conviction. Under section 1(2) of the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 the court can convict and then discharge you conditionally on entering a recognisance to be of good behaviour for up to three years. That is a conviction with a bond, and it is different in its consequences from a bond without one; the next section sets out the difference.

What moves the court towards a bond is a first appearance, a dispute that has a history on both sides, an apology, and a sense that what the complainant wants is for the conduct to stop rather than for the other person to be punished.

Bond, Probation Act, or both

The difference matters most for vetting and for travel. A bond without a conviction leaves no conviction to disclose on a form that asks about convictions. A section 1(2) discharge is a conviction, and it must be disclosed until it becomes spent. The Probation Act guide explains section 1(1) and 1(2) in full.

The sum and the period

The judge fixes both. There is no statutory scale and the Courts Service publishes none. The sum is set after the court has heard your means, and it has to be a sum that would hurt to lose and that you could pay if it came to it; in most District Court cases it is in the hundreds of euro. Where a surety is required, the surety's sum is fixed the same way. The period is also the judge's: no statute sets a maximum for a bond under the 1936 Act, a year is common, and the period for a section 1(2) recognisance cannot exceed three years.

Ask the clerk to read you the sum, the period and any condition before you sign. A bond "to keep the peace towards" a named person is narrower than one "towards all persons", and a bond with a condition, such as staying away from an address, is enforced on that condition.

Breach

If you break the bond, by fresh conduct of the kind it was meant to prevent, two things can happen.

The prosecution can apply to the court to forfeit the sum. The court hears both sides before ordering forfeiture, and the sum then becomes payable like a fine; the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 allows a fine over €100 to be paid by instalments over twelve months on application, and no custody can follow non-payment without a court hearing. The fine planner sets out the steps in default.

Where the bond was entered under section 1(2) of the Probation Act, the court can also bring the original matter back and deal with it, which means sentencing for the offence you were conditionally discharged on.

Separately, the conduct that broke the bond is almost always a new offence in its own right, prosecuted on its own charge sheet, and the court hearing that charge knows about the bond.

How it is recorded

The order is recorded by the court, and the Garda PULSE system records the outcome of the case. A bond without a conviction is not a conviction, so there is nothing for the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions and Certain Disclosures) Act 2016 to make spent. Where there is a conviction with a bond, the 2016 Act treats the bond as a qualifying sentence, and the conviction can become spent seven years after the effective date; a minor public order conviction in the District Court does not count towards the one-conviction limit, and any other conviction does. The spent convictions guide sets out the dates.

Garda vetting discloses convictions within the seven years and, for relevant work with children or vulnerable people, "specified information" that the Garda consider bears on risk. A bond can appear in that category even without a conviction; what is disclosed is a decision for the National Vetting Bureau on the facts. A police certificate for a visa is based on convictions, and a bond without a conviction is not one; the forms for the United States, Australia and Canada ask their own questions, and the answers must be truthful.

At court

A bond is usually offered at the first appearance or at the hearing, after the facts have been outlined and anything in mitigation has been said. The judge will ask whether you are prepared to be bound. It needs your agreement and your signature on the recognisance; a bond cannot be imposed on someone who refuses it, but refusing leaves the court to deal with the charge in another way, which can include a conviction and a sentence it would otherwise have avoided. If a surety is required, that person has to be at court or come to the office to sign.

If you are not sure what you are being asked to agree to, say so and ask for a moment, or for the case to be put back to later in the list while you speak to a solicitor. The court day guide explains how the list runs.

Where this leaves you

A bond is the court closing a case on your promise rather than on a conviction. Read what you sign, keep the period in your diary, and keep to it. If a sum is ever forfeited, or a fine is imposed alongside the bond, the fine planner shows the time to pay and an instalment schedule.

If a charge is still open and you may qualify for legal aid, ask the judge for it at your first appearance; the legal aid page explains the statement of means. If you would rather instruct someone privately, the solicitor page explains how to find a solicitor who takes District Court work.