Hearing
524 (1) When an accused is taken before a justice in any of the circumstances described in subsection (2), the justice shall
(a) if the accused was released from custody under an order made under subsection 522(3) by a judge of the superior court of criminal jurisdiction of any province, order that the accused be taken before a judge of that court so that the judge may hear the matter; or
(b) in any other case, hear the matter.
Circumstances
(2) The circumstances referred to in subsection (1) are the following:
(a) the accused has been arrested for the contravention of or having been about to contravene, a summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order and the prosecutor seeks to have it cancelled under this section; or
(b) the accused has been arrested for having committed an indictable offence while being subject to a summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order and the prosecutor seeks to have it cancelled under this section.
Cancellation
(3) The judge or justice who hears the matter shall cancel a summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order in respect of the accused if the judge or justice finds that
(a) the accused has contravened or had been about to contravene the summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order; or
(b) there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused has committed an indictable offence while being subject to the summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order.
Detention
(4) If the judge or justice cancels the summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order, the judge or justice shall order that the accused be detained in custody unless the accused, having been given a reasonable opportunity to do so, shows cause why their detention in custody is not justified under subsection 515(10).
Release order
(5) If the judge or justice does not order that the accused be detained in custody under subsection (4), the judge or justice shall make a release order referred to in section 515.
Reasons
(6) If the judge or justice makes a release order under subsection (5), the judge or justice shall include in the record a statement of the reasons for making the order, and subsection 515(9) applies with any modifications that the circumstances require.
Release
(7) If the judge or justice does not cancel the summons, appearance notice, undertaking or release order under subsection (3), the judge or justice shall order that the accused be released from custody.
Provisions applicable to proceedings under this section
(8) The provisions of sections 516 to 519 apply with any modifications that the circumstances require in respect of any proceedings under this section, except that subsection 518(2) does not apply in respect of an accused who is charged with an offence mentioned in section 469.
Review — order by judge
(9) An order made under subsection (4) or (5) respecting an accused referred to in paragraph (1)(a) is not subject to review except as provided in section 680.
Review — order of justice
(10) An order made under subsection (4) or (5) respecting an accused other than the accused referred to in paragraph (1)(a), is subject to review under sections 520 and 521 as if the order were made under section 515.
Annotations | French
- Section 524
- Subsection (2) sets out the situations in which an accused will be called back to court, which includes:
- (1) Being arrested upon suspicion of breaching a form of release; or
- (2) Having been arrested for an indictable offence while on release.
- Revocation of bail under s. 524 ensures that an accused who has been arrested for breaching their release or committing an indictable offence while on a form of release is brought back before the court for reassessment. The accused is brought before the court to determine whether prior conditions of release should be cancelled. Revocation of bail addresses both negligent and careless breaches of bail. Section 524 allows a judge or justice to determine whether despite a contravention of bail, the accused should be released again either on the same conditions or different conditions. Section 524 allows the court to deal with bail breaches by adjusting conditions without adding offences relating to the administration of justice to the criminal record of the accused ; R v Zora, 2020 SCC 14 at paras 67-68.