Appeal

In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision.

[1] Although appellate courts have existed for thousands of years, common law countries did not incorporate an affirmative right to appeal into their jurisprudence until the 19th century.

During the first dynasty of Babylon, Hammurabi and his governors served as the highest appellate courts of the land.

During this time, the shogunate established hikitsuke, a high appellate court to aid the state in adjudicating lawsuits.

[8] Commentators have observed that common law jurisdictions were particularly "slow to incorporate a right to appeal into either its civil or criminal jurisprudence".

[10] English common law courts eventually developed the writs of error and certiorari as routes to appellate relief, but both types of writs were severely limited in comparison to modern appeals in terms of availability, scope of review, and remedies afforded.

[10] For example, writs of error were originally not available as a matter of right and were issued only upon the recommendation of the attorney general (which was initially discretionary but by modern times was regularly granted).

In the United States, for example, litigants may waive the right to appeal, as long as the waiver is "considered and intelligent".

[23] Appellate courts may also grant permission for an amicus curiae to submit a brief in support of a particular party or position.