What is an appeal in law?

In law, an appeal involves asking a higher court to review a lower court's decision or a court's review of an order from an administrative agency. This requires a judicial hierarchy, typically including trial courts and courts of appellate jurisdiction, with each court generally subject to review only by the court directly above it. Only a party aggrieved by an order or judgment can seek appellate review. Appeals serve to ensure justice and establish rules binding on lower courts, promoting uniformity and certainty. While defendants have broad appeal rights in criminal cases, the prosecution generally cannot appeal an acquittal due to double jeopardy principles. Appellate courts decide on points of law based on the record, without taking new evidence.

Why might someone want to file an appeal in court?

Filing an appeal involves asking a higher court to review a lower court's decision. This is typically done if a party believes that the original court made a legal error, such as misinterpreting the law, or that the judgment was unjust. Generally, only someone directly affected by the outcome can appeal, and usually only after a final judgment has been made. The goal is to ensure justice and create consistent legal standards.

How does the appeals process work in the legal system?

The appeal process allows a higher court to review a lower court's decision. It requires a judicial hierarchy with trial courts and appellate courts. Only a party aggrieved by a court order can seek review, not an outsider. Appellate courts, composed of multiple judges, review trial court work for errors. They don't retry cases but examine records for legal errors. The emphasis is on legal questions, and they request briefs from litigants. The purpose is to ensure justice and create precedents. The Court of Appeal typically doesn't receive new evidence but reviews trial records and judges' notes. They can uphold or reverse decisions, but generally can't increase sentences.

What is the difference between a trial court and an appeals court?

Trial courts and appellate courts differ in their functions and structure within a judicial system. Trial courts, or "courts of first instance," are where disputes are initially heard. They involve a single judge who presides over the presentation of evidence and witnesses to determine the facts and apply the law to reach a verdict. Appellate courts review the decisions of trial courts to correct errors. These courts are typically composed of multiple judges and do not retry cases but focus on questions of law based on the trial record. The goal is to ensure justice and establish precedents for lower courts.

What types of cases can usually be appealed?

Appeals serve to ensure justice and create consistent legal rules. Generally, only a party negatively affected by a court order can appeal, and most systems do not allow the prosecution to appeal an acquittal in a criminal case. Appeals can be made regarding final judgments that conclude a case, or from interlocutory decrees, which settle only some issues; though appealing the latter is less common. Appellate courts in common-law systems reverse a ruling only if a harmful error occurred that the appealing party complained about during the trial. Criminal appeals, granted by statute, allow challenges to the legality of a conviction.

What are some possible outcomes of an appeal?

When a case is appealed, a higher court reviews a lower court's decision. After review, the higher court can affirm the lower court's decision, meaning the previous judgment stands. Or, the appellate court can reverse the lower court’s ruling if an error affected the judgment. The higher court can also remand the case, ordering it back to the lower court with instructions to correct errors, such as insufficient jury instructions, or failure to consider a recent court decision.

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Top Questions

What is an appeal in law?
In law, an appeal involves asking a higher court to review a lower court's decision or a court's review of an order from an administrative agency. This requires a judicial hierarchy, typically including trial courts and courts of appellate jurisdiction, with each court generally subject to review only by the court directly above it.

Only a party aggrieved by an order or judgment can seek appellate review. Appeals serve to ensure justice and establish rules binding on lower courts, promoting uniformity and certainty. While defendants have broad appeal rights in criminal cases, the prosecution generally cannot appeal an acquittal due to double jeopardy principles. Appellate courts decide on points of law based on the record, without taking new evidence.
2 Britannica Sources
1. procedural law: Common law
2. appeal
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why might someone want to file an appeal in court?
Filing an appeal involves asking a higher court to review a lower court's decision. This is typically done if a party believes that the original court made a legal error, such as misinterpreting the law, or that the judgment was unjust. Generally, only someone directly affected by the outcome can appeal, and usually only after a final judgment has been made. The goal is to ensure justice and create consistent legal standards.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Definition of on appeal
2. appeal
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How does the appeals process work in the legal system?
The appeal process allows a higher court to review a lower court's decision. It requires a judicial hierarchy with trial courts and appellate courts. Only a party aggrieved by a court order can seek review, not an outsider.

Appellate courts, composed of multiple judges, review trial court work for errors. They don't retry cases but examine records for legal errors. The emphasis is on legal questions, and they request briefs from litigants. The purpose is to ensure justice and create precedents.

The Court of Appeal typically doesn't receive new evidence but reviews trial records and judges' notes. They can uphold or reverse decisions, but generally can't increase sentences.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What is the difference between a trial court and an appeals court?
Trial courts and appellate courts differ in their functions and structure within a judicial system. Trial courts, or "courts of first instance," are where disputes are initially heard. They involve a single judge who presides over the presentation of evidence and witnesses to determine the facts and apply the law to reach a verdict.

Appellate courts review the decisions of trial courts to correct errors. These courts are typically composed of multiple judges and do not retry cases but focus on questions of law based on the trial record. The goal is to ensure justice and establish precedents for lower courts.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What types of cases can usually be appealed?
Appeals serve to ensure justice and create consistent legal rules. Generally, only a party negatively affected by a court order can appeal, and most systems do not allow the prosecution to appeal an acquittal in a criminal case.

Appeals can be made regarding final judgments that conclude a case, or from interlocutory decrees, which settle only some issues; though appealing the latter is less common. Appellate courts in common-law systems reverse a ruling only if a harmful error occurred that the appealing party complained about during the trial. Criminal appeals, granted by statute, allow challenges to the legality of a conviction.
2 Britannica Sources
1. procedural law: Appeals and other methods of review
2. appeal
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some possible outcomes of an appeal?
When a case is appealed, a higher court reviews a lower court's decision. After review, the higher court can affirm the lower court's decision, meaning the previous judgment stands. Or, the appellate court can reverse the lower court’s ruling if an error affected the judgment.

The higher court can also remand the case, ordering it back to the lower court with instructions to correct errors, such as insufficient jury instructions, or failure to consider a recent court decision.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Appeal, the resort to a higher court to review the decision of a lower court, or to a court to review the order of an administrative agency. In varying forms, all legal systems provide for some type of appeal.

The concept of appeal requires the existence of a judicial hierarchy. A typical hierarchy includes, at the lowest level, trial courts of limited or special jurisdiction, often called magistrates’ courts, justices of the peace, small-claims courts, municipal courts, or police courts; trial courts of general jurisdiction that often are called district, circuit, or superior court; and a court of appellate jurisdiction, which may be the ultimate supreme court of a system. Some countries introduce an intermediate appellate court, called the court of appeals, between the trial court level and the court of ultimate appeal. Usually, each court in the hierarchy is subject to review only by the court immediately above it. Frequently, however, an intermediate step may be omitted because the importance or immediacy of a legal problem calls for direct review of the trial court by the highest appellate tribunal.

In some countries different courts serve as the highest appeals court according to the types of cases and judicial problems. In France the Cour de Cassation (the supreme court) hears appeals on the interpretation of the law, whereas the court of appeal retries cases on the issue of fact. In contrast, the Conseil d’État hears appeals both on facts and on the interpretation of law from a separate system of administrative courts. Constitutional questions are handled by a constitutional council that is both legislative and judicial.

Mosaic portrait of Emperor Justinian I with a jeweled crown and halo, from the 6th-century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy.

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Procedural law: Appeals and other methods of review

In Germany the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice) is concerned primarily with a unified interpretation of the law, and there is a separate Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) to deal with constitutional questions. The court of appeals (Oberlandesgericht) retries cases both on issues of law and fact in civil matters and on issues of law only in criminal matters. The Supreme Court of the United States hears appeals on fact, interpretation, constitutional cases from lower federal courts, and appeals from state courts concerning issues of federal law. In England appeals on matters of fact in some instances go to different courts than do those on matters of law. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal. The Supreme Court of Japan serves as a final appeals court on questions of fact, law, and constitutional compatibility.

As a practical and legal matter, only the party aggrieved by an order or judgment is entitled to seek a review in the appellate court. Neither an outsider nor the party who prevailed in the case is permitted to seek a review of the decision by a higher court. However, when persons not originally parties to the action have been permitted to intervene or have been represented by others, as in class actions, they generally have the same rights of appeal as the original parties. There are few jurisdictions in which an appeal on a verdict of acquittal in a criminal case is allowed.

Orders and judgments of trial courts may be divided into two categories for the purposes of appeal: final and interlocutory. A final judgment is one that brings an end to litigation and leaves nothing but the execution of the judgment. In the course of a trial, however, a court is required to enter decisions that settle only subsidiary questions or some but not all of the ultimate issues. These decisions are regarded as interlocutory decrees. Although all jurisdictions sanction appeals from final judgments, appeals from interlocutory decrees are far less permissible.

An appeal serves two basic functions. Its first and primary function is to ensure the litigants that justice under law has been accorded in the resolution of a specific controversy. The second function is the promulgation of rules of decision that will be binding on all lower courts within a judicial system and thus ensure uniformity of treatment and some measure of certainty and guidance to those whose actions bring them within the scope of the rule.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan.

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