Appellant

Appellant meaning

The appellant is the party who brings an appeal against a decision made by a lower court. The appellant is usually the party who lost the case in the lower court and wishes to challenge the decision on the basis of an error in law or fact. The appellant is required to file the necessary paperwork and documents with the appropriate higher court within a specified period after the original judgment was handed down.

The appellant is responsible for presenting their case in front of a panel of judges or a single judge in order to persuade them that the decision made by the lower court should be overturned. The outcome of an appeal can have significant consequences for both parties involved, as it has the potential to fundamentally alter the outcome of the case. in summary the appellant was unsatisfied with the result of the procedure and is now seeking review of the judgement by a higher court in the hopes that it will be overturned or modified. In certain courts, the person who brings the case is also called a petitioner.

The Appellant Courts

The House of Lords (now known as the Supreme Court) and the Court of Appeal are both bound to follow previous decisions of higher courts through the doctrine of precedent. This means that they must abide by past decisions made by themselves and those made by courts higher up in the hierarchy. This ensures consistency and predictability in the law, which is an important aspect of the common law system. However, this does not mean that there is no flexibility in the law. There are certain circumstances in which the courts can depart from previous decisions, such as if there is a conflict or inconsistency with other decisions, or if the previous decision was made per incuriam (i.e. without considering an important point of law). The House of Lords and the Court of Appeal are both bound by the prior judgements of the Court of Appeal, with the exceptions that were established by the case of Young v. Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. [1944] KB 718.

Law books

We pride ourselves at Law Tutor to be leaders in private law tutoring and legal education for all law courses. Use Law Tutor's law books for the LLB degree, GDL and other legal courses. Law Tutor is a former university law lecturer and barrister.