The person who has pledged him or herself to pay back money or perform a certain action if the principal to a contract fails, as collateral, and as part of the original contract.
A person who binds himself to honour another's obligations in the event of that other's default.
In A Dictionary of English Law by (London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1923) page, 856, author W. Y. Byrne gives this illustration:
"If A owes B money and C, for good consideration, promoses B that he will pay him the money if A does not, here C is a surety for A, the principal debtor, and his promise constitutes a contract of surertyship."
Also known as a performance bond.
In law, where a person provides collateral after or before the original contract is signed, and as a separate contract, the person is called a guarantor and not a surety.
In criminal law, the concept of a surety was fully explained in an Alberta Court of Queen's Bench case, R v Webster, published at 94 C.C.C. (3d) 562:
"A surety is the person who puts up money to ensure both the accused's attendance in court when required and the accused's good behaviour pending an appearance in court.
"Even when an accused does not show up in court when required, a surety may, in certain circumstances, obtain the return of the money or property put up to ensure attendance.
".... (I)n Ex parte Green by Lord Denning ... began by stating that, at common law, if the terms of the undertaking of the surety were not fulfilled, the surety was automatically forfeited. He went on to say that this position had been softened by the granting of judicial discretion in the matter of the return of bail....
"Lord Denning then outlined the role of the judge who must decide whether to return any part of a surety's money or property: 'By what principles are the justices to be guided? They ought, I think, to consider to what extent the surety was at fault. If he or she connived at the disappearance of the accused man, or aided it or abetted it, it would be proper to forfeit the whole of the sum. If he or she was wanting in due diligence to secure his appearance, it might be proper to forfeit the whole or a substantial part of it, depending on the degree of fault. If he or she was guilty of no want of diligence and used every effort to secure the appearance of the accused man, it might be proper to remit it entirely.'"