Country insight

Judgments of civil courts in Australia can be appealed to a superior court. An appeal does not suspend the effect of the judgment being appealed, except in so far as a court having jurisdiction in the matter may direct. Civil procedure legislation in each jurisdiction sets out the rules and procedure for appeals. Ordinarily, it will be necessary to seek leave from the superior court to appeal. The Court of Appeal in each state, and the Full Federal Court, are the ultimate courts of appeal for each of those jurisdictions. Cases that emanate from the Federal Circuit Court are appealable to the Federal Court and then the Full Federal Court, whereas matters emanating from a State Magistrates Court are appealable to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Decisions made by the District Court (County Court in certain states) are appealable to the Supreme Court and decisions of the Supreme Court can be appealed to the state’s Court of Appeal. The High Court of Australia hears appeals from courts of appeal (sometimes referred to as the full court) in all jurisdictions, and has limited original jurisdiction (which predominantly relates to constitutional matters).

Parties generally, depending on the jurisdiction, have 28 days from the date of judgment or final order, to lodge an appeal in a civil matter to the relevant appeal court. Appeals will generally, because of the limitation of introducing new evidence in most civil appeals, be resolved more quickly than matters at first instance. Most appeals of civil matters will be heard and judgment given within six to eight months from commencement of the appeal.

Unless a dispute is settled, proceedings usually end with a judgment (Urteil). Judgments are final decisions on the subject matter of the dispute and deal with material legal issues raised in the parties' written statements and the oral hearings. The written judgment will be distributed to the parties. Generally, parties will have four weeks after notification of the judgment to file an appeal against it. A judgment may be appealed on points of fact, law, or procedure. If the judgment is handed down in writing, the four week period for bringing an appeal starts to run from the day following the handing down. Oral judgments are very rare. If, however, the judgment is issued orally at the end of the hearing and in the presence of both parties, the party wishing to file an appeal must enter a notice of appeal either:

• orally immediately after the judgment is pronounced; or
• in writing within two weeks calculated from the day following service of the transcript of the hearing.

The jurisdiction of the appellate court depends on whether the appeal was made against a decision of a District Court or a Regional Court. First instance judgments given by the District Courts can be appealed to the Regional Courts, whereas first instance judgments given by the Regional Courts must be appealed to one of the four Higher Regional Courts. Appeals against first instance judgments and some appeals against second instance judgments have suspensive effect.

Not all cases can be appealed to the Supreme Court. Only legal questions of considerable importance can be referred to the Supreme Court. There are also restrictions relating to the amount in dispute. The second instance court has jurisdiction to decide whether a matter can be appealed a second time, i.e. to the Supreme Court. An appeal to the Supreme Court usually requires a case to contain a legal question of considerable importance to ensure legal unity, security, and development, as well as an amount in dispute of more than EUR5,000. If the court declines the opportunity to appeal for a second time, there is still an opportunity to file an extraordinary second appeal to the Supreme Court. An extraordinary second appeal requires an amount in dispute of more than EUR30,000 or the dispute to be of a particular nature, such as family law or labor and social law. Second appeals must be filed within four weeks from the date of the appeal decision. Appeals are typically resolved within four to six months after the appeal of the first instance judgment is filed. Supreme Court decisions might take up to 12 months.

On appeal, no new claim or other objection may be raised. The parties may only submit new facts in the first instance. The appeal proceedings are limited to a review of the facts and submissions of the parties up to the end of the first instance proceedings. As such, the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction is purely legal in nature.

The resolutions of a court (Beschlüsse) can also be appealed. These resolutions are not judgments and typically concern the conduct of the proceedings and procedural issues. The appeal must be brought against resolutions of the competent court of first or second instance within 14 days of the relevant resolution generally, but some appeals against special resolutions of the court can be made within four weeks of the relevant resolution.

In general, the judgments of lower courts can be appealed as of right to a superior court. The timeframe and grounds for such appeals are found in the Civil and Commercial Procedures Law. 

The general timeframe to file an appeal at each court level is 45 days from the date of the issued judgment that is being appealed, unless otherwise provided by law. Subject to a small number of exceptions, the timeframe for filing an appeal commences when the unsuccessful party has been notified of the judgment. 

If the competent court issues its judgment at a hearing where all parties were present, the timeframe for an appeal begins to run on the date of that hearing. 

A party loses its right to appeal if it fails to appeal a judgment within the permitted timeframe. Timeframes for appeal stages vary depending on the complexity of the case and whether the court has appointed an expert. There are no formal deadlines by which cases must proceed.

With the above in mind, cases before: 

• the High Court will take approximately three to six months from commencement up to judgment;
• the High Court of Appeal will take approximately two to four months from commencement up to judgment;
• the Court of Cassation (in respect of civil matters) will take approximately 12 months from commencement up to judgment;
• the Higher Shari’a Court will take approximately three to six months from commencement up to judgment;
• the High Shari’a Court of Appeal will take approximately three to six months from commencement up to judgment; and
• the Court of Cassation (in respect of Shari’a matters) will take approximately 18 months from commencement up to judgment.

The timeframes provided above assume that: 

• the issues in dispute are limited to legal and factual issues;
• the court has not appointed an expert; and
• notification of the proceedings does not become protracted.

A judgment can be appealed from the moment it is delivered and, in any event, no later than one month as of the date on which it is served by a bailiff (although longer time limits apply if one of the parties resides abroad). This implies that the one-month time-limit does not start when the court informs the parties of the judgment, but only from when one of the parties have taken the initiative to have the judgment served on the other. If none of the parties does so, the time limit will not commence.

If a party decides to appeal a judgment, it must identify the particular objections it has against the court’s decision. Only the parts of the first decision that are appealed will be subject to a new decision. A party could, for example, decide to only challenge the court's decision as to the quantum of the damage and not the question whether or not there was a breach of contract.

The appellate court will review the facts of the case and questions of law. It will, in other words, review the case anew and the parties are free to bring forth new arguments or modify the relief sought (provided, in case of the party who was the plaintiff at first instance, it is based on facts or circumstances mentioned in the initial summons).

A judgment of an appellate court can be appealed to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court will only review questions of law. Unlike the appellate courts, which have the full power to review the merits of the case, the Supreme Court can only assess whether the court has applied the law correctly. The time limit for lodging an appeal to the Supreme Court is three months after the service of the judgment on the party that appeals.

Appeal proceedings can last a number of years depending on the court's workload. By way of illustration, some appeal proceedings before the Brussels Court of Appeal have lasted more than five years. The Supreme Court usually takes around a year and a half to decide on a case.

In Brazil, parties may file an appeal against interlocutory decisions and final judgments. The term for the parties to file any appeal is 15 business days from the date the judgment is notified to the parties (with the exception of a motion for clarification, which must be made within 5 business days). After an appeal is filed, the opposing party has 15 business days to file a reply. Although it is very difficult to predict the duration of an appeal in Brazil, the average time for the Federal or State High Courts to render judgments varies from 12 to 30 months.

Appeals before a State High Court are decided by a panel of three judges (in some cases it is possible for a single judge acting alone to decide the case). Each state has a High Court that will rule the appeals against decisions issued by the State Low Courts. Appeals filed against decisions issued by Federal Low Courts shall be decided by the Federal High Courts.

As noted in Overview of the court system, the Superior Court of Justice has jurisdiction to rule over appeals filed against decisions rendered either by a Federal or State High Court when:

• such decisions contravene a treaty, convention or federal law; or upon the analysis of a given treaty, convention or federal law, such decisions conflict with precedents from the Superior Court of Justice or the Supreme Court on the same matter.

The Supreme Court can rule over appeals against decisions rendered by a Federal or a State High Court or, even, decisions rendered by the Superior Court of Justice, when these decisions:

• directly contravene the Brazilian Constitution (the violation must have “general repercussions” in order to be analyzed by the Supreme Court, meaning that the issue discussed in the appeal needs to be relevant from an economic, political, social or legal standpoint and that it transcends the interests of the parties involved);
• declare a given treaty, convention or federal law as unconstitutional; and
• relate to a law or ordinance deemed valid and issued by the relevant authority in one of the Brazilian states or cities.

The duration of an appeal in the Brazilian High Courts (Federal or State) depends mainly on the complexity of the matter under dispute. The average duration of a High Court appeal is 36 months.

A judgment in a civil matter made by a provincial superior court can be appealed to an appellate court within the province. The highest appeal court in each province is known as the Court of Appeal. Judgments made by the Federal Court can be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal which, likewise, is the highest appeal court in the Federal Court system. The Supreme Court of Canada hears appeals from provincial Courts of Appeal and the Federal Court of Appeal. An appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada typically requires leave by the Supreme Court of Canada itself. Where this is the case, leave is only granted where the appeal raises issues of public importance. As mentioned, there is no further appeal of a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. 

An appeal of a judgment made by a provincial superior court or the Federal Court must typically be commenced within 30 days of the date of the judgment. Such appeals are normally heard within a year from the date of the judgment. The appeal court in question may issue a decision at the hearing of the appeal itself or may issue its decision some months later (although, generally, no more than 12 months later). 

Leave to appeal a decision to the Supreme Court of Canada must be commenced within 60 days of the appeal court decision that is being appealed. On average, the Supreme Court of Canada will decide a leave motion within six months, oral argument of the appeal on its merits will then occur within a further six months to a year, and a decision on the appeal will typically be delivered within an additional six months.

Appeals can be filed against certain decisions of an Ordinary Court and against the final judgment. Parties must file an appeal within five or 10 days – depending of the nature of the decision - from the date the judgment is served to the parties. The Appellate Court will analyze the appeal writ and will reject it if it does not contain the minimum requirements established by the law. If not rejected, the Appellate Court will judge and rule the case, or will establish a hearing where both parties may present their cases.

Appeals are decided by a commission of three judges.

Against Appellate Court decisions, the parties can file two remedies before the Supreme Court. These remedies will be granted if the party successfully demonstrates a wrong application of the law (casación en el fondo) or a procedural law infringement (casación en la forma).

The timeframe of the Supreme Court to grant a ruling depends mainly on the complexity of the matter. The average duration of an appeal decision is one year. The Supreme Court remedies take the same amount of time.

Judgments and orders made by the courts below the Supreme People’s Court can be appealed once to the higher court, but as noted above, judgments and orders of second instance courts are generally final and binding upon the parties. After a second instance judgment, the parties may only apply to the higher court for a retrial in exceptional circumstances. The case will need to have material defects in the previous proceedings or be of significant interest from a policy, legal or social justice perspective before a retrial can be granted.

An application to appeal a judgment should be filed within six months from either: (i) the effective date of the judgment or ruling; or (ii) the date when the party seeking to appeal knows or should have known the particular circumstances in which retrial should be granted.

Appeal proceedings take place in two stages. Firstly, the higher court will examine whether there are sufficient reasons and/or evidence to initiate the retrial process. During this phase of proceedings, if the party applies for retrial on the basis that “[t]he basic facts found in the original judgment or ruling are not evidenced”, the court will need to examine the facts, evidence, and the merits in order to determine whether this allegation is true. If the party applies for retrial on the basis that “[t]he formation of the tribunal is illegal or any judge who shall be disqualified in accordance with law fails to be disqualified”, then the court will not need to examine the merits and/or facts of the case but only review the procedural defect. 

Secondly, once the higher court grants the initiation of the retrial, the case is completely reconsidered. The new trial proceedings start from the very beginning – a new tribunal will be formed, the parties may submit their statements and evidence again, and hearings on the merits will be arranged. The higher court may, at its discretion, conduct retrial of the case by itself or may designate another court, including the first-instance court, to hear the case. The judgment which is handed down at the conclusion of the retrial is deemed to be a first instance judgment which is appealable.

Parties can file an appeal against a first instance judgment for alleged fact-finding errors or errors in the application of the law or procedure within 15 days of notification of the judgment. The appeal period would be 30 days for parties who have no domicile in Mainland China. In these circumstances, the higher court would review both the facts and the application of the laws and, if necessary, hold an oral hearing. Generally speaking, an appeal case is completed within three months of the court’s acceptance of the appeal. If an extension is needed, approval from the court’s president is required. An appeal suspends the effect of the appealed judgment, meaning that the judgment of the first instance would not become effective/enforceable directly if the case was appealed.

A party may appeal with the aim of modification, reversal or remission of the original judgment.

A judgment delivered by a district court may be appealed to the High Court of the district in which the District Court is located.

Judgments delivered by a High Court as the court of appeal (in the second instance) generally cannot be appealed to the Supreme Court (third instance). However, under special circumstances, the Appeals Permission Board may grant permission for a third instance review of the case, particularly when it involves fundamental legal questions.

Judgments delivered by a High Court as the court of first instance may be appealed to the Supreme Court.

A Supreme Court decision cannot be appealed.

The period allowed for appeal is four weeks from the date of the judgment. However, the appeal deadline of four weeks must be considered in relation to the execution deadline, which is generally 14 days after the judgment has been delivered. When the execution deadline expires, the judgment is generally enforceable. If an appeal is initiated before the expiry of the execution period, the appeal has a suspensive effect, meaning that the party is not obliged to comply with the judgment. According to practice, this also applies to declaratory judgments. If the party appeals only after the expiry of the execution period - but within the appeal period - the party is generally obliged to comply with the judgment and, for example, pay the judgment amount to the opposing party.

The appeals process begins with the filing of a notice of appeal with the court whose judgment is being appealed. This court must send the documents of the case to the court of appeal within one week after receipt of the notice of appeal.

The High Court and the Supreme Court in an appeal case will re-examine the facts of the case and reach their own conclusion. In extraordinary circumstances, the Supreme Court can allow witness examinations during the oral hearing. In such circumstances, these examinations will normally take place before the oral hearing and then be presented as written statements to form part of the evidence to be evaluated by the Supreme Court.

The appeal must be lodged within 15 days from service of the decision of the court of first instance. Within that time limit, the courts accept in practice a simplified form of appeal, which is subsequently (usually within a further 15 to 30 days) completed in an extended and detailed form.

An appeal suspends the effect of the appealed judgment.

Appeals can be based on both factual and legal grounds. On questions of law, it is possible to challenge both the substantive law assessment of the court of first instance and the incorrect application of procedural rules. In other words, by filing an appeal it is possible to obtain a complete review of the case in all aspects. This is different to an extraordinary appeal, which can only be based on an incorrect legal assessment in the original matter.

The appeal proceedings are not accessible to minor monetary claims which do not exceed the value of CZK10,000.

The duration of the appeal procedure is usually six to 12 months.

Judgments of the District Court may be appealed to a Court of Appeal. A party who wishes to appeal a judgment of a District Court must declare its intention to appeal the judgment within seven days of the judgment being handed down. The deadline for filing the actual appeal is 30 days from the date of the District Court judgment.

Leave for continued consideration is required in all civil law cases and the party filing the appeal shall indicate the grounds for the appeal. Leave shall be granted if: 

1. there is reason to doubt the correctness of the result of the decision of the District Court;
2. it is not possible to assess the correctness of the result of the decision of the District Court without granting leave for continued consideration;
3. in view of the application of the law in other similar matters, it is important to grant leave for continued consideration in the matter; or
4. there are other serious grounds for granting leave.

However, leave for continued consideration will not be granted solely in order to reassess the evidence unless there are reasonable grounds to doubt the correctness of the result of the decision of the District Court on the basis of the circumstances presented in the appeal. In general, the starting point is that a case can be completely reconsidered – on its merits and facts – on appeal, but in practice it may be easier to get leave for continued consideration (or leave to appeal from the Supreme Court) if the requested reassessment focuses on merits.

The Court of Appeal will usually decide whether to grant leave for continued consideration within two to three months of the request for leave for continued consideration. Thereafter, provided that leave for continued consideration is granted, the Court of Appeal will usually resolve the appeal within approximately 12 months, with the average time in 2022 being approximately seven months.

Leave to appeal must be requested from the Supreme Court in order to appeal a Court of Appeal judgment. Leave to appeal will only be granted on certain limited grounds which relate to the uniformity of legal practice and severe, procedural or other, errors that have occurred in previous phases. The Supreme Court has set a high threshold for granting leave to appeal; for example, in 2022, the court received 1,684 applications for leave to appeal in 129 cases. The appellant has 60 days from the date of the Court of Appeal judgment to: (i) apply for leave to appeal; and (ii) file the appeal. The Supreme Court will decide whether to grant leave to appeal within approximately six months of the request for leave to appeal. Thereafter, provided that the leave to appeal is granted, the Supreme Court will usually resolve the appeal in 14 months.

As a matter of principle, first instance decisions can usually be appealed. Appeals against decisions of a first instance court are lodged before the Court of Appeal with territorial jurisdiction. This said, the latest trend has been to designate courts of appeal to handle certain types of disputes (insolvency, antitrust, etc). For certain type of cases (e.g. proceedings involving competition or stock-market authorities), all the appellate litigation is concentrated before the Paris Court of Appeal. Appeals must be lodged within a month of the notification of the judgment, except if the appellant resides abroad (in which case the timeframe is extended for an additional two-month period). Appeals must be filed within fifteen days for non-contentious matters. Appeals are typically resolved within 12 to 24 months after the notice of appeal is filed.

Appeals before the French Supreme Court are only intended to assess whether there has been a breach of law, or legal or procedural principles or rules. Such appeals must be lodged within two months from the notification of the Court of Appeal's decision, except if the claimant resides abroad (in which case the timeframe is extended to a four-month period). The French Supreme Court does not conduct a full factual re-assessment of the case. Appeals before the French Supreme Court are typically resolved within 12 to 24 months after the notice of appeal is filed.

In most cases, the provisional enforcement (exécution provisoire) of the judgment applies. Apart from a few exceptions, appealing the judgment will not suspend the effect of the judgment.

Generally, a civil action begins either in the Local Court (if the amount in dispute is EUR5,000 or less) or the District Court (if the amount in dispute is more than EUR5,000). In principle, the parties can file a first appeal against a judgment to the next highest court (Berufung). The appellate courts will decide upon the case on average 13 months after the date of the first judgment.

Furthermore, after receiving an appeal judgment, the parties can file a second appeal (Revision) to the Federal Court of Justice. The second appeal must either be permitted by the Higher Regional Court or permitted by the Federal Court of Justice following a complaint against non-permission. Such permission requires that the dispute is of fundamental significance, or that a decision of the Federal Court of Justice is required for the shaping of law through judicial decisions or the safeguarding of consistent case law.

Finally, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) can hear complaints if constitutional rights have been violated and all ordinary legal remedies have been exhausted. Most of the constitutional complaints are resolved within 12 months of the appeal being filed.

The Court of Appeal hears appeals from both the District Court and the Court of First Instance.

An appeal can be made on the grounds of challenges on the question of law, findings of fact and the exercise of discretion, but does not trigger a re-trial. The courts will consider the merits, the entire evidence and the trial. If new points or evidence intend to be raised for the first time during appeal, leave of the court (ie the court’s permission) will be required for the appeal. 

For civil cases in the District Court, a party who is not satisfied with the decision of a judge can apply to that judge for leave to appeal. The time limit for seeking leave to appeal is 28 days from the date of a final judgment, or 14 days from an interlocutory order or decision. If the judge refuses to grant permission to appeal, the party may apply for permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal within 14 days from the date of the judge11/11/2023 06:32:05s refusal.

For a case in the Court of First Instance, generally no leave is required for an appeal against a final judgment, but permission is still required for an appeal against an interlocutory order or decision of a judge of the Court of First Instance and the time limit for seeking leave is 14 days from the date of the interlocutory order or decision. Similar to an appeal from the District Court, if leave is refused by the Court of First Instance judge, the party may apply for permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal within 14 days from the date of the judge’s refusal. The time limit for filing a notice of appeal against a final judgment of the Court of First Instance where no leave is required is 28 days from the date of the judgment.

Due to a number of factors, such as the availability of the parties and judges, it usually takes a minimum of six months before an appeal will be heard by the Court of Appeal. In terms of timeframe for resolving the appeal, there is no stipulated period and the timeframe for the Court of Appeal to issue a judgment varies depending on factors including the court’s workload and the complexity of the case. This means that the Court of Appeal may issue a decision in less than six months or it may take over a year.

For civil appeals, leave to appeal from either the Court of Appeal or Court of Final Appeal is required. Permission to appeal will only be granted if the question or questions involved in the appeal is/are of great general or public importance, or, if taking into account all the relevant circumstances such as merits, the appeal ought otherwise to be submitted to the Court of Final Appeal. The time limit for seeking permission to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal is 28 days from the date of the Court of Appeal judgment. If the Court of Appeal refuses to grant leave, a further application for leave can be made to the Court of Final Appeal within 28 days from the date of the Court of Appeal’s refusal. The Court of Final Appeal will usually hand down its written judgments within approximately one year after leave has been granted. That said, much depends on how busy the Court of Final Appeal is and also on the complexity of the case.

An appeal will not automatically operate to suspend the proceedings and the judgment will be deemed valid unless and until it is reversed. If the parties intend to suspend the effect of the appealed judgment, they may apply for a stay of execution of judgment pending the appeal.

Decisions (orders of judgments) of the first instance court become final and non-appealable if the parties do not appeal within the required timeframe. Generally, appeals must be brought within 15 days of the decision being communicated to the parties. Late appeals or appeals that lack the minimum content elements, such as a specific relief sought or a legal provision which is alleged to have been breached by the first instance decision, are refused by the Court of Appeal. In that event, the Court of Appeal will first set an extra time limit within which the appellant may remedy the deficiencies of its appeal.

Appeals are typically resolved within six to 18 months after the notice of appeal of the first instance judgment is filed.

Second instance judgments are not subject to appeal other than by extraordinary revision.

In addition to the traditional appeal, there are extraordinary remedies, such as motion for retrial and extraordinary revision by the Curia.

A motion for retrial may be filed with the first instance court against a final and binding judgment, where new facts or circumstances are discovered after the judgment. A party to the original proceedings may initiate a retrial only if the newly discovered facts or circumstances would have been to the party's benefit had they been considered originally. A retrial may be requested within six months of the date on which the judgment became final or the date on which the new circumstances become known to the party, whichever occurs later. In any event, a retrial may not be requested once five years have elapsed from the judgment becoming final.

An extraordinary revision is a special appeal against a final and non-appealable second instance judgment, filed with the Curia. This review may be requested within 60 days of service of the second instance judgment. Though such appeals are described as extraordinary, it is not uncommon for parties to turn to the Curia. The Curia's review has a narrower scope than an appeal, as the Curia will only consider legal issues and will not re-examine the underlying facts and circumstances of the case.

Certain types of cases are generally exempt from referral to the Curia, unless (exceptionally) the Curia deems that the importance of the legal question in issue makes such referral necessary. These cases include: claims with a value of less than HUF5 million (approximately EUR15,000); decisions concerning child custody, and cases concerning joint ownership of condominiums.

Together with the limited precedent system, the uniformity complaint procedure has been introduced as an extraordinary remedy. A uniformity complaint can be filed on the basis of an alleged departure from a precedent when all available judicial remedies have been exhausted and the Curia has not remedied such departure in the proceedings. Under the current rules, uniformity complaints are decided by a Grand Chamber of the Curia consisting of 40 judges, or by sub chambers consisting of 20 judges, both chaired by the President or the Vice-president of the Curia.

The purpose of a uniformity complaint procedure is to establish whether the lower courts, or the Curia itself, have deviated from a precedent in interpreting the law and, if so, whether that departure is justified. If the deviation is found to be unjustified, the court decision in question is vacated. Very few uniformity complaints have been successful in the past three years. Among the most common reasons for dismissal were formal deficiencies (e.g. lack of proper power of attorney or a statement of reasons for the deviation) and lack of comparability between the precedent and the underlying case.

An appeal must be filed within six months from the date on which the judgment is published (i.e. filed at the registrar's office of the rendering judge) or, if a certified copy of the judgment is served at the request of a party, within 30 days from the date of service. Where a judgment is appealed, the case will be revisited by the Court of Appeal. The parties are not permitted to introduce new claims, and further evidence is either not admissible or is admissible only to a very limited extent.

The appeal may be declared inadmissible if it is manifestly unfounded.

An appeal does not suspend the effect of the judgment. However, the appealing party may request that the judgment is suspended on the grounds that it will create irreversible damage and the appeal is likely to be well founded.

During the appeal, the case is completely re-examined but no new documents may be filed.

The timeframe for the Court of Appeal to decide an appeal varies depending on the district. Usually, larger districts (such as Rome and Milan) take longer. On average, it takes the Court of Appeal no less than 36 months from the date on which the First Instance Court gave judgment.

A Court of Appeal decision can be challenged before the Supreme Court, but only on grounds of law (whether substantive or procedural). The timeframe for appealing a Court of Appeal decision is:

• six months from the date on which the appellate judgment is published (i.e. filed at the registrar's office of the rendering judge); or
• if a certified copy of the judgment is served at the request of a party, within 60 days of the date of service.

In principle, the Supreme Court does not review a decision on the facts.

The timeframe for the Supreme Court (Court of Cassation) to decide on appeals ranges from 36 to 48 months.

Judgments in civil cases in the High Court can be appealed by a notice of appeal which must be lodged with the appellate court within 28 days following “perfection” of the court order (i.e. the date on which the court registrar draws up the final written form of the order).

An appeal does not automatically suspend or stay the judgment or decision being appealed, but a stay can be ordered by the court pending the appeal.

The appellant must serve the notice of appeal on all parties directly affected by the appeal within seven days and the respondent must lodge and serve a respondent’s notice within 21 days of the notice of appeal being served on them. The timeframe for the court to hear an appeal will depend on the court’s timetable, however it generally takes at least six months (and can be more than 12 months) unless the appeal is expedited/case managed).

The Court of Appeal (for civil matters) was established in 2014 and acts as the appeal court from the High Court. However, it is possible to “leapfrog” the Court of Appeal and appeal directly to the Supreme Court if the Supreme Court agrees that there are exceptional circumstances that warrant it and one or both of the following factors applies:

(i) it is a matter of general public importance; and/or

(ii) it is the interests of justice.

An appeal can be made both on points of law/procedure and fact. However, an appeal is not a full re-hearing of the case (and new evidence can only be introduced in special cases). Therefore, an appeal will generally only consider the correctness of the High Court’s decision based on the evidence before the High Court at trial. In addition, the Supreme Court will only hear appeals concerning matters of general public importance or the interests of justice (errors at trial will not, by themselves, warrant a hearing in the Supreme Court).

A party dissatisfied with a judgment at first instance may file an appeal by submitting a petition of appeal within two weeks of receipt of the judgment from the court of first instance. An appellant is required to file detailed grounds of the appeal within 50 days after filing a petition of appeal if such grounds are not provided in the petition. The respondent must file an answer by the date stipulated by the court, which is usually one to two weeks before the court hearing. Although there is no statutory limit on the number of court hearings that may be held on appeal, usually only one or two hearings are held. A party may be allowed to submit supplemental written submissions. It typically takes between 6 and 12 months from submitting the petition of appeal to a final decision on appeal, but the process may take longer in complex cases.

A party dissatisfied with a judgment of a court of second instance may file an appeal to the Supreme Court, but only if: (i) it is alleged that the second instance judgment violates the Constitution; or (ii) even where no violation of the Constitution is alleged, the judgment involves material matters concerning the interpretation of laws and regulations. In these cases, a party may file a petition for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court within two weeks of the second instance judgment being handed down. This petition for leave to appeal invites the Supreme Court to exercise its discretion to accept the final appeal. In the event that the Supreme Court agrees to hear the appeal, it typically takes between four and six months for the final judgment to be given. It tends to take longer when the Supreme Court overturns decisions by the lower courts.

A judgment becomes final and binding once it cannot be further appealed. Parties may not dispute the contents of final and binding judgments unless certain exceptional circumstances exist.

An appeal does not automatically suspend the enforceability of the original judgment. A separate petition to suspend/stay enforcement must be filed.

While the purpose of the appeal court is to review the judgment of the first instance, the appeal court will include newly collected evidence and materials in addition to the evidence and materials of the first instance (System of Continuative Instance). Therefore, the merits and facts should be reconsidered in the appealing court. The appellate court (i.e., the third/last instance) conducts hearings only on legal issues, and the appellate court is, in principle, bound by the facts found in the original judgment.

The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the District Courts, with the District Courts acting as the appellate court for decisions issued by the Magistrates’ Courts - except for employment disputes, which are appealed directly to the Court of Appeal.

A party wishing to challenge a decision of the first instance court usually has 40 days (which may be extended if the defendant resides abroad) from the date of service or notification of the decision. However, it is important to note that certain proceedings, such as appeals against interim orders, may have a shorter deadline of 15 days. The deed of appeal will be served by a bailiff, except in certain situation where the court clerk will handle service instead. 

Certain decisions cannot be appealed:

• decisions rendered in first and last instance (that is, decisions for which the claim is less than EUR2,000);
• decisions that the losing party has acquiesced to; and
• decisions for which the deadline to appeal has expired.

In general, appeals suspend the effect of a decision. However, there are exceptions when the first instance court’s decision is deemed enforceable either by a court order or law.

The appellate court will thoroughly examine the judgment submitted to it, considering both the facts and the law. The appellate court may either uphold the decision of the first instance court or overturn it partially or entirely. In most cases, it is possible to challenge the judgment of the Court of Appeal by lodging a (further) appeal with the Court of Cassation. However, it is important to note that the Court of Cassation's review is limited to assessing whether there has been a violation of legal principles or procedural rules. It does not conduct a comprehensive examination of the factual findings of the lower court.

The duration of proceedings before the Court of Appeal will depend on the workload of the chamber, but typically ranges from 1.5 to 3 years. The duration is generally shorter for appeals before the Court of Cassation.

The General Courts, the lowest tier of the structure, are trial courts divided into circuits with specialized subject matter jurisdiction. The Court of Appeal hears appeals from decisions of the General Courts (subject to meeting minimum value considerations). In most cases the scope of its review will be limited to the particular issues being appealed from the General Courts. However, the Court of Appeal is empowered to conduct a de novo trial, addressing again all the factual and legal issues. The Court of Cassation only determines points of law. It has final jurisdiction covering matters relating to the proper application, interpretation, and enforcement of law, and rectifies only legal procedural and legal substantive defects committed by the inferior courts. As such, it typically deals with questions of law, rather than considering the merits of a case.

A party has 30 days from the date of the first decision of the General Courts to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The timeframe for the Court of Appeal to resolve appeals is usually anytime between six months to one year, depending upon the nature and complexity of the case. Judgments handed down by the Court of Appeal are final unless the case is taken to (and accepted by) the Court of Cassation. Again, a party has 30 days from the date of an appellate decision to appeal to the Court of Cassation. First, a council chamber will have to entertain the matter if it accepts that the case will be heard by the Court of Cassation. If rejected, the appeal is deemed declined. It will usually take two years for a judgment to be given following this appeal.

Depending on the nature of the proceedings, parties may file appeals to challenge procedural decisions or final judgments.

The appeal must be filed in writing before the court of first instance, which then refers the case to the court of appeal.

The period for lodging an appeal at an appellate court is usually three months after, the district court rendered its judgment. An appeal suspends the effect of the judgment in the first instance, unless the appealed judgment has been explicitly declared enforceable with “immediate effect” (i.e. regardless of a potential appeal).

Appeals against judgments of the district courts will be dealt with at one of the four high courts of appeal. The court of appeal will re-examine the matter as a whole – including all facts and the merits of the case – and reaches its own conclusion. A hearing is likely to be held within a year after an appeal has been initiated. An appeal judgment is likely to be given within a year from the hearing for the appeal has been held.

In most cases, it is possible to contest the court of appeal's judgment by appealing to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court only assesses whether the law has been applied correctly and whether procedural rules were followed. Thus, the Supreme Court will not conduct a new factual assessment of the case. The proceedings are fully in written (i.e. no hearing) and a Supreme Court judgment cannot be appealed.

Judgments of the District Court can be appealed to the High Court, and first instance judgments of the High Court can be appealed to the Court of Appeal. A judgment of the High Court on appeal from the District Court can only be appealed to the Court of Appeal with leave of either the High Court or the Court of Appeal.

The extent to which an appeal court will reconsider a case on merits/facts will depend on the nature of the case and the points of appeal. In many situations, a party can only appeal on a question of law. If the right to appeal isn't limited to questions of law, an appeal court generally won't change findings of fact made by the lower court. This applies equally to the Supreme Court.

Leave may also be required to appeal an interlocutory decision. All appeals to the Supreme Court require an application for leave to appeal first.

The various court rules prescribe the appeal period, which is generally 20 working days from the date of judgment.

Neither an application for leave to appeal nor the granting of leave operates as a stay of the relevant proceeding or as a stay of execution of the relevant decision. However, either the original court or the appeal court may, on application, order such a stay.

Generally, appeals will be determined on the evidence presented to the original court and no new evidence can be introduced. Some appeals may be limited to questions of law only. Because of the limitation on introducing new evidence in most civil appeals, appeals will generally be resolved more quickly than matters at first instance. The appeal court will generally not hear from any witnesses.

District Court judgments can be appealed to a Court of Appeal on the basis of assessment of evidence, application of law or procedural errors. Appeals in low-value cases (ie cases with a value of below NOK250,000) require permission from the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal may also deny permission to appeal in high-value cases, where it is clearly more likely than not that the appeal will not succeed.

Appeals must be filed within a month of the District Court’s judgment. A shorter deadline may be set by the District Court, but this is not common. The respondent usually has a three-week deadline to reply to the appeal. Submitting a reply to the appeal is not a strict requirement by law, but is nevertheless best practice.

Even if a District Court judgment is appealed within the deadline, there would still be grounds to apply for an execution lien where the judgment concluded in one of the parties receiving a monetary award. An execution lien acts as security for the awarded sum awaiting the final and binding judgment. In any case, the execution lien has to be applied for and is not granted on the initiative of the court.

Following submission of the defense/reply, the Court of Appeal will promptly arrange the initial case management meeting. This is often held within a month of the Supreme Court having been forwarded the appeal and reply. The meeting is typically conducted via a telephone conference with the judge in charge of case management and counsel, and serves to establish the case’s structure. The court will also schedule the appeal hearing at this meeting, which is usually between six months and a year from the date on which the appeal and reply was forwarded, unless specific circumstances require a later date. Please note that this timeline has varied a good deal over the last 15 years.

Judgments are typically issued within four weeks of the close of the appeal hearing, although this will often be longer in complex, multi-party cases.

If a District Court decision is set aside by the Court of Appeal, the case will be transferred back to the District Court (or other court that is to hear the case further). The District Court is bound by and shall apply the interpretation of the law which the Court of Appeal applied when setting aside the original ruling.

Appeals from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court need special permission from the Supreme Court’s Appeals Committee. Leave can only be granted for appeals: (i) which concern issues of principle interest; (ii) which raise questions of significance beyond the scope of the relevant case; or (iii) for which there are other reasons why it is important that the Supreme Court decides the matter (for example, matters of public importance, concerning human rights etc.). The Appeals Committee’s decision on whether further appeal to the Supreme Court is granted is normally delivered approximately a month after the appeal and reply is forwarded from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. Once permission is granted, an initial case management meeting is held quite promptly thereafter. Supreme Court hearings are typically held within six months after the Supreme Court received the appeal and reply. Judgments are typically issued within two-three weeks of the close of the Supreme Court hearing.

If a Court of Appeal decision is set aside by the Supreme Court, the case shall be transferred back to the Court of Appeal or other court that is to hear the case further. The relevant court is bound by and shall apply the interpretation of the law which the Supreme Court applied when setting aside the original ruling.

There are two levels of appeal in Omani court proceedings: first to the Court of Appeal and secondly, to the Supreme Court. Judgments of the Court of Appeal can be enforced by the judgment creditor notwithstanding any further appeal by the judgment debtor, except where the Supreme Court issues a decision for valid justification to suspend the enforcement until its final judgment. Enforcement action is dealt with by a separate Department of Execution within the Primary Court. While the right of appeal to the Court of Appeal is automatic and thus the majority of cases are appealed, the right of appeal to the Supreme Court is limited to circumstances where there has been an error of law or a procedural irregularity.

Any party seeking to appeal a judgment of the Omani civil courts should ensure that it does so within the applicable time limit (ie 15 or 30 days for the Court of Appeal and 40 days for the Supreme Court). It is common for the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to take one year to issue their judgment in relation to an appeal, but this can vary depending on the caseload of the courts at the time.

Prospective claimants should be conscious that the broad rights of appeal available in the Omani courts can add considerably to the cost and delay in litigating in the country. This is similar to other legal systems in the Middle East.

A losing party may appeal against a judgment of the court of first instance to the court of second instance. The appellant must demand a written justification for the judgment and has two weeks from its receipt to file an appeal (or three weeks in certain circumstances). It is necessary to file the appeal via the first instance court. The respondent has to file a response within two weeks of the delivery of the appeal. In general, the appeal suspends the effects of the appealed judgment. In the second instance, the court rules on the merits and reconsiders the whole case. New evidence may be admitted or rejected by the court if the party could have raised it in the first instance.

There is no specific time limit for the court of first instance to pass on the case files to the court of second instance. The only direction contained in the CPC is that the court of first instance must “promptly” send on the case files to the court of second instance. The duration of proceedings before the court of second instance varies, depending on the court’s workload. Second instance proceedings may last, on average, between six months and two years.

The Polish legal system also provides for an extraordinary review of the judgments of second instance courts (i.e. a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court) which must be brought no later than two months after the delivery of the judgment along with a written justification by the second instance court. A cassation appeal will be accepted and processed if:

• the case presents a significant legal issue or an issue that causes discrepancies between court judgments;
• a cassation appeal is manifestly justified; or
• the earlier court proceedings were invalid.

A cassation appeal cannot be based on erroneous interpretations of facts/evaluation of evidence. Strictly, it concerns the legal merits of the case only. The case may be reconsidered partly or completely depending on how the legal issue in question affects the outcome of the case.

The cassation proceedings may take between nine and 12 months before the Supreme Court decides on the merits of the case. However, the timing and duration of the proceedings depend on the court’s workload and the complexity of the case. According to the CPC, the Supreme Court is not limited by any deadline in deciding the case.

In cases before the Supreme Court, only an attorney who is admitted to the Polish bar (an advocate or an attorney-at-law) is permitted to write the appeal and represent a party during the hearings.

In the Portuguese jurisdiction, there are ordinary and extraordinary appeals. Ordinary appeals must be filed before the decision becomes res judicata (which means final and binding) – in general within 15 or 30 days of the notification of the final decision to the parties, depending if it is an urgent proceeding (such as an interim relief proceeding) or an ordinary proceeding (although other specific timeframes might be applied). Extraordinary appeals can, in some circumstances be filed outside those timeframes (see below).

In general, claims brought before the Court of First Instance may only be appealed to the Court of Appeal if the value of the claim is higher than EUR5,000 and the decision is unfavourable to the appealing party in an amount higher than EUR2,500. The Court of Appeal decides on matters of fact and law.

As for the decisions of the Court of Appeal, an appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice is only admissible under certain circumstances (namely, where the value of the case is higher than EUR30,000 and the decision is unfavourable to the appealing party in an amount which is higher than EUR15,000). However, if the first instance judgment is upheld by the first-level appellate court on broadly similar grounds and without any dissenting options, the matter cannot be appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice. The Supreme Court of Justice only decides questions of law.

For decisions on interim relief proceedings (described below), there is generally only one level of appeal, which means that the decision granted by the first-level appellate court cannot be appealed to the Supreme Court.

For appeals in the Courts of Appeal, the average length may range from six to 12 months and for the Supreme Court of Justice from another six to 12 months. However, proceedings can be shorter or last much longer, especially when the facts are disputed and must be established by the court, or if other issues arise.

When the Court of First Instance issues its final decision, the deadline for the losing party to file an appeal is 30 days from notification of such decision, reduced to 15 days in cases prescribed by law, such as an appeal within a proceeding which is deemed to be urgent (amongst other things).

The appeal must be filed by means of an application addressed to the Court of First Instance that issued the decision being appealed and must also indicate the type, effect, and method of lodging the appeal. The application to file the appeal must contain the appellant’s briefs stating the specific grounds of appeal and respective conclusions. If all these formal requirements are fulfilled, the Court of First Instance will admit the appeal and refer it to the competent Court of Appeal.

Once the Court of Appeal has granted its decision, and if an appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice is legally permissible, the same time limits shall be observed.

Legal representation for civil proceedings is mandatory in cases where:

• An ordinary appeal is admissible due to the claim’s value;
• An appeal is always admissible, regardless of the amount; and
• Appeals are initially filed in higher courts.

There are two types of extraordinary appeals: the revision appeal and the appeal for the standardization of jurisprudence. The revision appeal may be filed in exceptional cases in which it can be shown that the original decision was, for example, based on forged evidence. The appeal for the standardization of jurisprudence is submitted in order to obtain a homogenous interpretation and application of a specific Portuguese law provision. It is the Supreme Court’s duty to ensure that judicial decisions upon similar matters do not differ substantially from each other, to ensure a uniform application of the law.

Under certain circumstances, the parties can also appeal to the Constitutional Court when all ordinary appeals have been exhausted and when the case concerns issues of a constitutional nature.

As a general rule, an appeal does not suspend the effect of the original judgment. However, when the appeal is filed, the appealing party may request the original judgment to be suspended, on the grounds that immediate enforcement of the judgment would cause substantial damage – in which case the appealing party must provide security by means of a monetary deposit, bank guarantee or security bond. The Court can then decide how to proceed.

There are two levels of appeal in Qatari court proceedings: first to the Court of Appeal and secondly to the Court of Cassation. Judgments of the Court of Appeal are capable of enforcement by the judgment creditor notwithstanding any further appeal by the judgment debtor. Enforcement action is dealt with by the separate Court of Execution. While the right of appeal to the Court of Appeal is automatic and thus the majority of cases are appealed, the right of appeal to the Court of Cassation is limited to circumstances where there has been an error of law or a procedural irregularity.

Any party seeking to appeal a judgment of the Qatari civil court should ensure that it does so within the applicable time limit: ie 30 days for an appeal to the Court of Appeal and 60 days for an appeal to the Court of Cassation with respect to civil cases and 30 days for commercial cases. On average, it is common for the Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation to take 4-6 months to issue judgment in relation to an appeal, but this can vary depending on the caseload of the court at the time.

Prospective claimants should be conscious that the broad rights of appeal available in the Qatari courts can add considerably to the cost and delay in litigating in the country. This is similar to other legal systems in the Middle East.

There are two types of challenges that can be brought against a court decision: ordinary and extraordinary.

As a rule, the interested party can appeal the first court's decision within 30 days of the decision. Submitting the appeal will suspend the enforcement of such decision. The appeal allows the judges to fully reconsider the case, both on the merits and on the facts.

The appeal will be judged by the superior court. In particular:

• judgments of a Court first instance can be appealed to the Tribunal with territorial jurisdiction;
• judgments of the Tribunals can be appealed to the Court of Appeal with territorial jurisdiction;
• judgments of the Court of Appeal can be appealed to the High Court of Justice.

In certain cases, the parties may also seek the following extraordinary appeals:

• a second appeal (recourse), generally admissible in all types of cases, except those expressly prohibited by the law (such as labour law, inheritance and asset division) and it can only be filed for alleged breaches of legal principles or procedural rules expressly determined by the law;
• revision of the decision is only permissible when expressly provided by law, such as when the material object of the judgment no longer exists or when the judge, witness or expert of the case have been criminally convicted for criminal acts in relation to that specific case; or
• annulment of the decision, which can only be sought in cases of certain serious procedural breaches.

The second appeal will be determined by a higher court than the court that rendered the original decision. The court that issued the decision being reviewed or annulled will determine any revisions or cancellations. These extraordinary remedies may be exercised simultaneously (i.e. they are not mutually exclusive).

Usually, it takes about six to nine months from filing the appeal to the appeal's decision.

As commercial disputes are predominantly heard by state commercial courts, this summary outlines the general procedure of appeal in state commercial courts.

Generally, a judgment of the state commercial court may be challenged as follows:

• an appeal in the state commercial court of appeal: the parties have one month to appeal a judgment in the court of appeal. The decision will not enter into force until the expiry of such period or until the court of appeal issues its decision. Proceedings in the court of appeal usually range from two to three months;
• a cassation appeal in the state commercial court of a district: once the resolution of the court of appeal is issued, the parties have two months to challenge it at the court of cassation. Usually, proceedings in a court of cassation can take between two to three months;
• a review by the Supreme Court: the Russian Supreme Court is the court of extraordinary instance which deals with major misapplications of substantial and procedural laws by lower courts. Leave is required from a judge of the Supreme Court for a case to be considered, either by:
  • the Economic Collegium of the Supreme Court: second cassation appeal, which may be submitted within two months from the date of the judgment of the state commercial  court of a district. The second cassation appeal is aimed to review the substantial violations of law that have affected the outcome of a case;
  • the Presidium of the Supreme Court: supervisory review petition, which may be submitted within three months from the date of judgment of the Supreme Court judge.

Since the Presidium of the Supreme Court is the last appellate instance, it only considers appeals based on extraordinary grounds.

There are First Instance Courts in almost all the provinces and cities in Saudi Arabia in order to facilitate the conduct of proceedings for individuals. Courts of Appeal are located in all the 13 provinces in Saudi Arabia. The Supreme Court is based in Riyadh.

A judgment of the First Instance Court can be appealed within 30 days from the date the written judgment is issued (which is usually different from the date of the final hearing at which the parties are informed of the judgment). If none of the parties appeal, the judgment becomes final after 30 days. All judgments accepted by both parties become final immediately.

In practice, the appeal court may take up to three months to review the case and make a decision.

Appeals from the State Courts are heard by the General Division of the High Court. Subject to the issue of whether the court’s permission is required, the Notice of Appeal must be filed within 14 days after the date of the lower court’s decision. Appeals from the General Division of the High Court are heard by the Appellate Division of the High Court or the Court of Appeal. Subject to the issue of whether the court’s permission is required, the Notice of Appeal must be filed within 28 days after the Judge’s decision.

Civil appeals generally take six to 12 months, depending on the complexity of the case and whether interlocutory applications are filed. An appeal does not suspend the effect of the appealed judgment unless the court directs otherwise.

The Appellate Court usually rehears the case on documents and is free to depart from the lower court on points of law. It will be slow to overturn the lower court’s findings of facts and will only do so if the lower court’s assessment is plainly wrong or against the weight of the evidence. That said, the Appellate Court may depart from the inferences drawn by the lower court if they are not supported by the facts, as well as the lower court’s finding on a witnesses’ credibility if it has access to the same material as the lower court.

Following the appeal hearing, the Appellate Court may give any judgment or make any order which ought to have been given or made, and make such further orders as the case may require. This may include ordering a new trial if substantial injustice will be caused otherwise.  

The Court of Appeal hears appeals from the Appellate Division of the High Court only if they raise a point of law or public importance, or appeals from the General Division of the High Court arising from certain cases, including those (but not limited to) relating to:

• constitutional or administrative law;
• contempt of court;
• the law of arbitration;
• the insolvency, restructuring or dissolution of a corporation, limited liability partnership or sub-fund of a variable capital company;

• the law of patents;

• admiralty or shipping law;

• a decision of the SICC;

• appeals under certain written laws; and

• a decision or order of the General Division of the High Court under the Mediation Act 2017 (Mediation Act) or the Singapore Convention on Mediation Act 2020 (Singapore Convention on Mediation Act).

As explained above, most civil cases begin in the District Courts and City Courts. The domicile of the defendant usually determines the court that will hear the claim. In general terms, appeals against judgments of the District Courts and City Courts can be heard at one of the eight Regional Courts of appeal. The relevant appellate court will re-examine the facts of the case and may reach its own factual and/or legal conclusions on the case.

In addition to the general requirements, the appeal submission must state the decision against which it is directed, the extent to which it is contested, the grounds on which the decision is held to be wrong (grounds of appeal) and what the appellant seeks to obtain (application for leave to appeal). The appeal must be submitted, within 15 days of the delivery of the decision, to the court whose decision is being appealed. So long as the appeal submission was correctly filed (see below), the lower court’s decision will not become effective until the appeal has been determined by the appellate court.

Grounds for appealing a lower court’s decision include:

• a party´s right to a fair trial has been infringed;
• an excluded judge or an improperly constituted court decided the case;
• some other error to the proceedings that could have resulted in an incorrect decision;
• based on the adduced evidence, the court made incorrect factual findings; or
• the court’s decision is based on an incorrect legal opinion.

The appellate court will refuse the appeal if the submission was delayed or filed by an unauthorized person, filed against a decision for which no appeal is admissible or does not comply with the statutory requirements and the appeal proceedings cannot be continued because of such defect.

In certain cases, it is possible to appeal the appellate court’s decision, by extraordinary remedy to the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic.

Appeals in South Africa ordinarily take approximately six to 12 months to be finalized.

In the Magistrates’ Court, an appellant must note the appeal within 20 court days of the date of the judgment appealed against. The appeal is noted by delivering the notice of appeal to the opponent and the Magistrates’ Court.

In respect of appeals to the High Court, within 40 court days of noting the appeal, the appellant must, in writing and on notice to all other parties, apply to the registrar of the High Court to schedule a hearing date for the appeal.

In the High Court, a party must apply for leave to appeal prior to commencing appeal proceedings. Application for leave to appeal may be made at the time the judgment or order is granted by stating the grounds of appeal. When leave to appeal is required and it has not been requested at the time of the judgment or order, the application for leave to appeal must be made within 15 court days of the date of the order appealed against. The application must set out the grounds of appeal. If the application is refused, the appellant is entitled to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal.

An appeal usually suspends the effect and enforcement of the judgment and may be brought on a question of fact or law. On appeal, the case will be reconsidered on its merits. In order to appeal, the first-instance decision must be:

• final in effect and not susceptible to alteration by the court of the first instance;
• definitive of the rights of the parties. i.e. it must grant definitive and distinct relief; and
• of the effect of disposing of at least a substantial portion of the relief claimed in the main proceedings.

This list is not exhaustive, and the interests of justice are of paramount importance when deciding whether a decision is appealable. An appeal can be refused if the grounds for appeal have not been properly substantiated.

To appeal a decision of the Court of First Instance, the appellant must file a written notice of appeal to the lower court within two weeks of being served with the decision of the lower court. The grounds for appeal to the High Court may be on a legal or factual basis. High Court proceedings are similar to lower court proceedings in that the High Court holds a series of separate hearings at regular intervals to hear oral arguments and examine witnesses.

To appeal a High Court decision, the appellant must file a notice of appeal within two weeks of being served with the decision of the High Court. It generally takes less time to obtain a decision from the High Court than from the Courts of First Instance.

The High Court will review a decision of the first instance court de novo, regardless of which party appeals. A decision of the High Court may be appealed to the Supreme Court by either party, but appeals to the Supreme Court are limited to questions of law.

Supreme Court proceedings rarely involve hearings. The Supreme Court generally issues its decision after reviewing the parties’ submissions and the court record. A decision from the Supreme Court can take anywhere from four months to several years after the date of the appeal. In fact, if the Supreme Court deems that the appeal is groundless, it will not review the appeal further and will dismiss it within four months of the date that it received the court record.

When the Court of First Instance or the High Court issues a judgment, it generally includes a provision that allows for provisional enforcement of the judgment. Thus, a party appealing that judgment or decision should file an application to stay the judgment while the appeal is pending.

The parties have the right to file an appeal against the judgments entered at first instance within 20 working days of the notification of such judgment. The competent court to hear the appeal is the corresponding Provincial Court (Audiencia Provincial). The court will be formed of a panel of three judges and will have the opportunity to review everything done in the lower court. The timeframe in which appeals are resolved by the Provincial Court varies, ranging from six to 18 months.

The judgment issued by the Provincial Court may also be subject to an extraordinary appeal. Appeals may be made for breaches of procedure or incorrect interpretation or application of the law or when a judgment has been obtained in a proceeding that has not complied with the required formalities (cassation appeal / recurso de casación). This extraordinary appeal must be filed before the Provincial Court which issued the relevant judgment within 20 working days of notification of the judgment to the relevant party. Such cassation appeal will be heard by the High Court of Justice of the relevant region, when the applicable law is the regional civil law, and the First Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala Primera del Tribunal Supremo), when the applicable law is national civil law.

The cassation appeal before the Supreme Court is an extraordinary appeal and can be based either on the breach of substantive or procedural rules, but only if there is cassational interest (this is a legal interest beyond the specific case. e.g., a question not yet addressed by case law). There used to be a quantitative limit (EUR600,000) to access this type of appeal, however, this has been recently abolished. The cassational interest will exist in three cases:

• when the decision is contrary to the settled case law of the Supreme Court;
• when the contested decision rules on matters on which there is conflicting case law among the Provincial Courts; or
• where the contested decision applies rules on which there is no case law of the Supreme Court.

In addition, cassation appeal may, in any case, be filed against judgments of the Provincial Court in the context of civil judicial protection of fundamental rights (specifically, those that are subject to amparo proceedings) even if there is no cassational interest.

The decision on whether there is cassational interest (and thus if the appeal is admitted or not) is discretionary of the court (according to the abovementioned criteria). In case the cassation is unadmitted, this must be reasoned via decree (Auto). The court can also set the formal criteria (extension, format, etc.) to be followed when filing a cassation appeal.

The timeframe in which the Supreme Court resolves extraordinary appeals is estimated to be 27 months, according to the 2022 official statistics.

Regarding the effect that appeals have on the enforcement of judgments, it must be said that judgments are enforceable when these are final (cannot be appealed or have not been appealed). However, provisional enforcement can also be requested from the court of first instance.

If a party wishes to appeal a judgment of a District Court, the party is required to seek leave to appeal from the Court of Appeal. The timeframe to request such leave is three weeks from the date of the District Court’s judgment. After that timeframe, only extraordinary grounds for appeal are allowed. There are three such extraordinary grounds under Swedish law, namely if:

• a new trial is possible due to new evidence becoming available which could not have been brought in the first trial;
• the party for some extraordinary reason was unable to file an appeal within the stipulated time; and
• if the appellant alleges a serious procedural error.

The three grounds may all lead to an overruling of a judgment that has entered into legal force. It is, however, very rarely seen in Swedish civil law cases. The timeframe in which the Court of Appeal usually resolves appeals of District Court judgments is usually about 12 months.

The Supreme Court generally only deals with legal precedents (i.e. when it is deemed important to establish a precedent for the lower courts), and it is necessary to obtain leave to appeal in the Supreme Court. Leave to appeal must be sought within four weeks of the date of the Court of Appeal’s judgment. The Supreme Court usually decides on leave to appeal within 3 to 4 months and resolves the appeal within 6 to 24 months of granting leave to appeal.

The Court of First Instance is an umbrella term for the trial courts that conduct the original trials and render the first decision. A party may appeal a Court of First Instance judgment to the Court of Appeal within one month of the judgment being issued.

To appeal to the Court of Appeal, an applicant must satisfy the following conditions:

• the claim must have a value exceeding THB50,000 (unless the Court of First Instance has indicated that there should be a right of appeal regardless); and
• no new evidence or arguments can be submitted at the appeal stage unless the matter concerns public order.

The Court of Appeal will only reconsider the issues specifically raised by the parties, they will not re-consider the entire case, this also applies to the Supreme Court. A judgment of the Court of Appeal is usually final but permission to appeal to the Supreme Court can be obtained on limited grounds. An application for such permission should be made within one month of the decision being handed down by the Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court may accept an appeal if they are satisfied that the appeal raises a significant question for the court to consider, including if:

• the question is one involving public interest or public order; or
• the question needs to be answered, in order to improve the interpretation of the law.

The Civil Procedure Code does not prescribe a specific timeframe for the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court to render decisions. In practice, the appellate courts would take at least six months from the submission of all pleadings to consider an appeal. It is not uncommon for the Supreme Court to take more than two years to consider an appeal. Consumer protection legislation, however, provides that the Court of Appeal should render its decision in consumer cases within a year from the submission of all pleadings. Filing an appeal does not automatically suspend the effect of the decision rendered by the Court of the First Instance, the losing party will have to request the court to suspend the judgment enforcement.  

Cases under the jurisdictions of the Specialized Courts such as cases that concern issues of laws on labor, bankruptcy, international trade and intellectual property have their own bespoke criteria for an appeal to the Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases and final appeal to the Supreme Court.

Judgments of civil courts can be appealed. However, appeals are usually limited to questions of law and not issues of fact. A party wishing to appeal will need the permission of either the court which has given judgment, or the appropriate appellate court before its appeal can proceed. Permission for an appeal will only be given where the court considers that the appeal has a real prospect of success, or there is some other compelling reason for the appeal to be heard. Decisions of the High Court may be appealed to the Court of Appeal. Decisions of the Court of Appeal may be appealed to the UK Supreme Court where they concern an arguable point of law of general public importance.

There are prescribed time limits for filing a notice of appeal and these vary depending upon the type of appeal that is being brought. In the majority of cases, the time limit is 21 days to appeal against a county court or High Court decision. However, there are a number of exceptions, for example, 28 days if it is an appeal against an Upper Tribunal decision or 14 days if it is an appeal against a Competition Appeal Tribunal decision.

The timeframe for an appeal to be resolved depends on the complexity of the case, and the court's workload. In the Court of Appeal: (i) a relatively urgent appeal may take around six months; and (ii) an appeal on a non-urgent complex commercial matter may take between 12 to 18 months, from the moment when permission to appeal was granted. Appeals to the Supreme Court similarly may take around 12 to 18 months.

Judgments of civil courts in Scotland can be appealed to a superior court. Appeals from the Sheriff Court are to the Sheriff Appeal Court. Appeals from the Outer House are to the Inner House and from the Inner House there is the right to request that the Inner House allow the appellant to make a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London. In the event such a request is refused, a party can ask the Supreme Court directly for permission to appeal. Such permission will normally only be given if the appeal raises a point of general public importance.

The time period in which an appeal can be made in the Sheriff Court is 28 days, although in cases where leave is required, permission to appeal must be obtained within seven days. Appeals from the Sheriff Appeal Court to the Inner House of the Court of Session can only be made with the permission of either court. Appeals from the Outer House to the Inner House in respect of a final decision must be made within 21 days and appeals from the Inner House to the UK Supreme Court require an application for leave to be made within 28 days of the decision being appealed against being made. Generally, the UK Supreme Court will hear an appeal within 12-15 months of permission being granted, and the judgment follows usually within 12 weeks of the hearing.

The lodging of an appeal in a case has the effect of opening-up all prior decisions of the court for review. In most cases, an appeal will be on a point of law and evidence will not be heard again. In certain circumstances, the court can order additional evidence to be heard to supplement the case. Once a judgment is appealed it can no longer be enforced subject to limited exceptions. Appeals can be upheld or refused, and the court’s reasoning will be detailed in the judgment.

The DIFC and ADGM each have a two-tier court system: the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal. The respective court rules of the DIFC and ADGM have broadly similar procedures for the appeal of judgments of the lower court. In each case, before the judgments of the Court of First Instance can be appealed to the Court of Appeal, permission to appeal is required.

Obtaining permission to appeal differs slightly between the DIFC and ADGM courts:

• under the DIFC court rules, where permission to appeal is initially refused on the papers, a party may seek to renew the application at an oral hearing; and
• under the ADGM court rules, all applications for permission to appeal are considered without a hearing. In DIFC court proceedings, an application for permission to appeal may be made to:
  • the Court of First Instance at the hearing where the judgment was made; or
  • that court or the Court of Appeal in a subsequent appeal notice.

If permission is sought by way of an appeal notice, that appeal notice must be filed either within the period directed by the lower court or, if no such direction was provided, within 21 days after the date of the decision of the lower court that the appellant wishes to appeal. If the lower court refuses permission, a further application for permission can be made to the Court of Appeal within 21 days of the lower court's refusal.

In ADGM court proceedings, and similar to DIFC court proceedings, permission must be obtained from a decision of a judge in the Court of First Instance in order to appeal to the Court of Appeal. In order to obtain such permission, an application may be made to the Court of First Instance within 14 days of the date when the decision to be appealed was made. Should the Court of First Instance refuse an application for permission to appeal, a further application for permission to appeal may be made to the Court of Appeal within 28 days from the date of the refusal. All applications for permission to appeal are considered by a panel of three judges without a hearing. The panel may grant or refuse permission to advance all or any of the grounds of appeal or invite the parties to file written submissions within 14 days in relation to the grant of permission. Permission to appeal may only be granted where the panel considers that the appeal would have a real prospect of success or there is some other compelling reason why the appeal should be heard.

In the federal judicial system, U.S. District Courts and federal agencies’ administrative courts are typically the first courts to adjudicate disputes. Those courts’ final judgments can be appealed once as a matter of right to the appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals by any party unsatisfied with the lower court’s decision. Rules of appellate procedure in each jurisdiction set out the requirements and timing for appeals. Appeals must typically be commenced within 30 days following entry of the underlying judgment.

In the federal courts, appeals generally may only be taken from final judgments and not from intermediate decisions made by the lower court. But an immediate right of appeal may be taken from orders granting or denying injunctions, rejecting certain affirmative defenses, establishing receiverships, or adjudicating rights and liabilities in admiralty proceedings. A party may also be able to petition the U.S. Court of Appeals to hear a pre-judgment appeal if the decision at issue poses a particularly significant and unsettled legal question, though in practice such appeals are rarely allowed.

If a party is unhappy with the decision reached by the U.S. Courts of Appeals, it can seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court, although the U.S. Supreme Court has discretion as to which cases it accepts and only hears a small fraction of the cases it is asked to review each year.

Most states follow a similar three-level structure for their court systems, although some smaller states do not have an intermediate appellate court, with all appeals being taken directly to the state supreme court. The same general prohibition on pre-judgment appeals applies, with each state having its own particular exceptions.

Notable State Variations

• California: There is no right of immediate interlocutory appeal; however, a party may petition an appellate court for a writ of mandamus to permit an appeal on a particularly significant issue. This procedure is often used to challenge an order denying a petition to quash a complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction over the defendant;
• Illinois: Certain contempt orders are immediately appealable if they impose a monetary fine or other penalty;
• New York: New York is significantly more generous in its allowance of interlocutory appeals than other states or the federal system. With few exceptions, interlocutory appeals may be taken from any order that involves some part of the merits of a case or affects a litigant’s substantial rights. Ex parte orders are not eligible for interlocutory appeal; and
• Texas: Orders granting or denying class certification or denying summary judgment based on a finding of immunity are immediately appealable as of right.