PART III—APPEALS.
Appeals from courts.
28. Notice of appeal.
(1) Every appeal shall be commenced by a notice in writing which shall be signed by the appellant or an advocate on his or her behalf, and shall be lodged with the registrar within fourteen days of the date of judgment or order from which the appeal is preferred.
(2) Every notice of appeal shall state shortly the effect of the judgment or order appealed against and shall—
(a) contain a full and sufficient address at which any notices or documents connected with the appeal may be served on the appellant or his or her advocate; and
(b) except where subsection (3) applies, state the general grounds upon which the appeal is preferred.
(3) If the appellant or an advocate on his or her behalf indicates at the time of filing a notice of appeal that he or she wishes to peruse the judgment or order appealed against before formulating the grounds of appeal, he or she shall be provided with a copy of the judgment or order, free of charge, and the grounds of appeal shall be lodged with the registrar within fourteen days of the date of the service on him or her of the copy of the judgment or order.
(4) Where the appellant is represented by an advocate or the appeal is preferred by the Director of Public Prosecutions, the grounds of appeal shall include particulars of the matters of law or of fact in regard to which the court appealed from is alleged to have erred.
(5) Where an appellant who is not represented has not availed himself or herself of the provisions of subsection (3), nothing in this section shall be read as preventing the appellate court from permitting the appellant from raising any proper ground of appeal orally at the hearing of the appeal.
(6) The appellate court may, for good cause shown, extend the periods mentioned in subsection (1) or (3).
29. Fee on appeal.
Except insofar as it is waived or reduced, the fee prescribed for filing the notice of appeal shall be paid at the time of lodging the notice and if the fee, if any, is not paid the notice shall not be received.
30. Appellant in prison.
If the appellant is in prison he or she may present any document relating to his or her appeal to the officer in charge of the prison who shall then forward the document to the registrar, and for the purpose of section 28 on the date of the presentation, any such document shall be deemed to have been lodged with the registrar.
31. Application for extension of time; abandonment of appeal.
(1) An application to extend the time for lodging a notice of appeal or grounds of appeal under section 28(1) or (3) shall be made in writing to the registrar of the appellate court and shall be supported by an affidavit specifying the grounds for the application.
(2) Except in the case of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, the appellate court may summarily reject an application of the kind mentioned in subsection (1) without hearing the applicant or his or her advocate if, on perusing the supporting affidavit, it is of the opinion that no grounds for granting the application are disclosed.
(3) An appellant may, at any time before the hearing of the appeal, abandon his or her appeal by giving notice in writing of the abandonment to the registrar of the appellate court, and upon the notice being given the appeal shall be deemed to have been dismissed by the appellate court.
32. Summary dismissal of appeal.
(1) On receiving a notice or grounds of appeal under section 28, the appellate court, or a judge of that court, shall peruse it and after perusing the record of the trial court—
(a) in the case of an appeal against sentence only, where it considers that the sentence is not excessive; or
(b) in any other case, where it considers that no question of law is raised proper for consideration by it, or that there is no material in the circumstances of the case which could raise a reasonable doubt whether the conviction was right or led the court to consider that the sentence ought to be reduced,
it may dismiss the appeal summarily without hearing the appellant.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1)—
(a) nothing in this section shall be read as preventing the appellate court, or a judge of that court,
from dismissing an appeal summarily where subsection(1)(b) applies with regard to conviction, and directing that it be heard as regards sentence only; and
(b) no appeal shall be summarily dismissed where the notice or grounds of appeal has been signed by an advocate, unless the advocate has had an opportunity of being heard in support of the notice or grounds of appeal.
(3) Except where a judgment or order has been copied for the purpose of section 28(3), no part of the proceedings of the court in respect of which an appeal has been preferred shall be copied unless the appellate court makes a direction to that effect after perusing the record in accordance with subsection (1).
(4) This section does not apply to appeals to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.
33. Notice of hearing.
(1) If the appellate court does not dismiss an appeal summarily, it shall cause notice to be given to the appellant and to the respondent or to their advocates, if any, of the time and place at which the appeal will be heard and shall furnish the respondent with a copy of the proceedings and of the grounds of appeal.
(2) At the hearing of an appeal the appellate court shall hear the appellant and the respondent or their advocates.
Appeal against other decisions - national proceedings
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