If your case has been heard by the lower courts – consisting of the county and magistrates’ courts – and you think that the court has made the wrong decision, you can potentially go the Court of Appeal and ask for your case to be reassessed. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales can also look closely at how the decision in your case was arrived at.
The Court of Appeal itself is situated in the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The appeal court is divided into two sections. The first is the Civil Division, which hears all appeals for civil cases. The second is the Criminal Division which, as you might expect, hears all appeals for criminal cases. The head of the Civil Division is the Master of the Rolls, with the head of the Criminal Division being the Lord Chief Justice. The appeals court itself is second only to the highest court in the UK – the recently created Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (which has taken over this role from the House of Lords).
In the appeals court you will normally see three judges who sit on a panel and hear the cases of appeal that are put before their court. There are permanent judges that sit in the appeal court, and they are called the Lords Justices of Appeal.
Before you can make an appeal about a case that was originally heard in the county or magistrates’ courts you have to be granted what is called ‘leave’ to appeal your case. A judge is the only person that can grant you this permission.
The court staff your original case may have come into contact with can’t give you help and advice, as they must remain independent and impartial to ensure justice is always fair to all. You can, however, get help about the procedures for making an appeal to either the Criminal or Civil Divisions of the Court of Appeal from the Royal Court of Justice staff. Note they can only give procedural advice and not legal advice about your case, as they are not trained solicitors.
The appeals system in the UK is complicated, and it is worth speaking to a solicitor if you are thinking about appealing a decision.
