court judge appeal civil-judgment
Appeal process in UK from District Judge
<p>Could anyone please explain to me my options. I am appealing against a possession order from a District Judge to a Circuit Judge. I have a hearing for permission to appeal in two weeks time. I am worried if permission is denied, can I appeal to the next level above, Appellate Court or Supreme Court? My case is in public interest, the Judgement was biased to Local Authority. Despite that I am a litigant in person and a secure tenant, my recent research in Possession claims confirmed to me that Judgement was obviously wrong and unfair.    </p>

<p>You need to look at <a href="https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part52#52.3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">rule 52</a> of the Civil Procedure Rules. This says that appeals from a County Court lie to the High Court (probably the Chancery Division in this case), and that permission to appeal can be granted either in the County Court or the High Court. It also says (52.1(4)) that permission to appeal is usually decided without a hearing (on paper), but that the appellant may apply for a reconsideration at an oral hearing; it would be sensible to check exactly what the Circuit Judge will be doing.</p>

<p>It appears that you are not distinguishing properly between the appeal and the application for permission. If your appeal is dismissed by the High Court, it may be possible (if you get permission) to go to the Court of Appeal; but it's premature to worry about that now, since if permission is refused, there will be no appeal, and the Court of Appeal could not consider the case even if it wanted to.</p>

<p>The Circuit Judge will not determine the merits; his job is solely to determine whether there is a "compelling reason" (52.6(1)) for the appeal to be heard. This usually means that the judgment arguably made an identifiable error of fact or law, which the High Court needs to decide on. There is no point saying that the judgment was biased or unfair; you need to say exactly what error you think should be corrected.</p>

<p>When the Circuit Judge has heard all the arguments, he will give his decision. If permission is granted, you will need to file an appellant's notice in the High Court, and contact the Chancery Listing office; I imagine the County Court staff will be able to help with the details. If it is refused, the order will say (52.3(3)) whether a further application for permission may be made, and to whom. If he is acting in the High Court (this will be set out in the heading of the order you receive), there is nothing further to be done: the Court to which the appeal would lie has refused to hear it. If he is acting as a County Court judge, you may have the right to apply to the High Court to reconsider the decision (52.3(2)(b)); but you should definitely consult a solicitor before doing so, no matter how strongly you feel. This is not just another roll of the dice which may be lucky. There will be considerable costs: there are time limits that have to be observed: you have to draw up an appellant's notice: and in the end the High Court Judge will merely consider, on paper, whether a colleague on circuit made a decision that was obviously wrong, which is statistically unlikely.</p>
