The answer is YES! But, you can not appeal just because you think the decision and court order is wrong or you do not like what the court has ordered. There has to be legal grounds for an appeal to be made. So ask yourself the following and if you were represented ask your legal representative the following questions urgently:
- Can you show that the decision / order is wrong because of a serious mistake being made?
- Was the decision / order made without the Court following the correct and proper procedures?
If you have legal grounds to appeal then you must ACT QUICKLY.
Your application to appeal (known as the appellant’s notice) MUST be filed within the correct time limits and the time for filing will depend on what you are appealing and if you were granted permission to appeal by the Judge who made the Order and a specific time period was set out for you to do this in the order. If so; make sure you comply and file your notice of appeal in line with the court order and if no time limit is provided file it within 21 DAYS. If you were not given permission and a time period to appeal in the order then consider the following.-
If you are appealing a final order and judgement you have 21 DAYS from the date of the order being made to file your appeal
If you are appealing a case management decision ( a decision at a hearing in ongoing proceedings) then you only have 7 DAYS to file your appeal.
DO I NEED PERMISSION TO APPEAL?
You do not need permission to appeal the decision of a Lay Magistrate in the Family Proceedings Court or to appeal a committal order for a breach of a Court order.
In all other circumstances the answer is Yes, you will need to have permission. Sometimes it may have been requested and granted when the order was made so check the Order carefully. Permission must be from the appeal court and it can be applied for within your application for appeal so it does not cause any delays and is done using the same form.
WHO DO I APPEAL TO?
This entirely depends on the level of court that made the Order you wish to appeal. Generally the appeal is made to the next level of Judge from the original order. There is also a list on the government website setting out the levels of judges and the specific courts where your appeal should be sent. There is also a fee to pay when you appeal and depending on what you are appealing this will be £125 or £215 and you may be able to get help with the fees depending on you level of income, please look at our article on help with court fees.
Note :- You may well need the transcript of the proceedings you are seeking to appeal. You can apply for these using EX105 and EX107.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Once you have filed your application to appeal with the relevant court fee the court will send copies to the Respondent. If you are appealing to the Court of Appeal then you will have tpo serve the Respondent directly.
Your appeal will then be considered by the Judge, normally without you having to attend a hearing. It will be considered on the application and grounds of Appeal you have filed. You should then receive the decision of the Judge in writing telling you whether you have received permission to appeal or not. (If you already had permission and had filed only the appeal then you will receive details about the dates and period within which the hearing will be listed to be heard and any further directions for you to follow up until the hearing).
WHAT DO I DO IF THE APPEAL JUDGE REFUSES TO GRANT ME PERMISSION TO APPEAL?
The Order setting out the refusal for the appeal may not allow for further consideration, however, if it does not state this then you can ask the court to reconsider the decision of granting permission. This must be done within 7 DAYS and you must send a copy to the Respondent. If a hearing is granted to reconsider but refused again then there is no further option or possibility of appeal.
WHAT CAN THE APPEAL COURT ORDER?
If you are granted permission to appeal and your appeal is successful the appeal court can set aside or vary any order or judgement. The court can refer the application for determination and order a new hearing.
If you need to discuss the option of appealing a final order or a case management decision then do not hesitate to contact us.
FLPS are here to help and support you.