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- Court of Appeal
Overview
This page explains what the Court of Appeal does and what the appeal process could mean for you.
What does the Court of Appeal do?
The Court of Appeal does not review an entire case or decide if someone is guilty. It considers if the District Court or High Court made a correct decision or whether something happened which means the defendant’s conviction cannot stand.
If a defendant's conviction is overturned on appeal, the case may be sent back to the District Court or High Court for retrial.
Your court victim advisor will contact you if there's going to be an appeal. You won't have to give evidence again at the appeal, but you can go to the hearing if you want to.
An appeal can be about:
- a decision made before trial
- bail
- a conviction
- a sentence
- name suppression
- another legal question arising in a criminal matter.
Who can appeal
The person who was found guilty or sentenced can appeal.
The prosecution can also appeal in some situations. For example, they may appeal if they think the sentence was not legally correct.