The Court of Appeal

What the The Court of Appeal does

The Civil Division reviews decisions of the High Court and the County Court and certain tribunal decisions, on grounds that the decision was wrong or unjust because of a serious procedural irregularity. The Criminal Division hears appeals against conviction and sentence from the Crown Court, and can quash a conviction, order a retrial, or reduce a sentence — and, on an Attorney General's reference, increase an unduly lenient one. Permission is normally required, decided first on the papers by a single judge and renewable at an oral hearing.

What it hears

• Civil appeals from the High Court and County Court
• Criminal appeals against conviction from the Crown Court
• Appeals against sentence, and Attorney General's references on unduly lenient sentences
• Appeals from certain tribunals, including the Upper Tribunal

Before your first court date

Act immediately — appeal notices are due within days or weeks depending on the type of case, and extensions are not routinely granted. Get the transcript or a note of the judgment, because grounds of appeal must be drafted against what the judge actually said. Take advice on the merits before spending: appellate courts do not rehear evidence, and disagreeing with the outcome is not a ground. In criminal cases, advice from trial counsel on the prospects of appeal should be sought at once.

What happens at your first appearance

Permission is usually considered first on the papers by a single judge. If refused, civil applicants may in many cases renew at a short oral hearing. If permission is granted the appeal is listed before two or three judges, argued on the papers and the transcripts, with no live evidence in the ordinary case. Judgment may be given at the end of the hearing or reserved and handed down later.

What to prepare

• The order or sentence appealed against, with its exact date
• The judgment transcript or an approved note of the judge's reasons
• Draft grounds of appeal identifying the specific error, not the disagreement
• The bundle of documents that were before the lower court
• Advice on merits, funding and costs exposure before filing

When to get legal advice

This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Appeals are a specialist exercise with short deadlines and real costs risk, and the single most valuable step is an early, honest assessment of whether a ground of appeal genuinely exists. Legal Hotline's free line explains the process any hour on 0800 007 4103, and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Where it is

Official sources