GUERNSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Elaine Gray and Steven Balmer, Carey Olsen
No appeal can be brought against a decision of the Guernsey Court of Appeal without special leave of His Majesty in Council or of the Court of Appeal. Specific rules apply for appeals from the Court of Alderney and the Court of the Senechal in Sark. 10.3 Procedure for Taking an Appeal Magistrate’s Court to Royal Court The appellant must file a form of notice of appeal with the court within seven days of the decision subject to appeal. This should state the grounds of appeal and if the appeal is against all or only a part of the decision. Copies must be served on all parties affected within 48 hours of the notice being filed with the Greffe (court records). The respondent can apply for security for costs with- in seven days following receipt of the notice of appeal. The court can extend the relevant time limits, on whatever conditions justice requires. Royal Court to Court of Appeal The appellant has one month to file and serve their notice of appeal on all parties to the pro- ceedings below who are directly affected by the appeal. Within seven days of the notice, the appellant must apply to set down the appeal by giving notice. The registrar then sets down the appeal. Within two days of being set down, the appellant must notify that fact to each party on whom the notice of appeal was served. The respondent may serve a respondent’s notice on the appellant within 14 days after service of the notice of the appeal. Within four months after the appeal was set down, the appellant shall lodge an appeal bun- dle including a skeleton argument. Thereafter, the respondent has one month to lodge its skel- eton argument, following which a date to hear
the appeal will be fixed, usually at least 28 days later. These directions may be varied on application to the court. 10.4 Issues Considered by the Appeal Court at an Appeal On appeal from the Magistrate’s Court, the Royal Court has wide powers. It can confirm, reverse, or vary the determination, or make such other order as it thinks fit. In matters involving the lower court’s exercise of discretion, the Royal Court should not interfere unless the decision is clearly based on a misunderstanding of the law/ evidence, or there has been a wrong inference drawn from the facts, or circumstances have changed materially since the original hearing. The Royal Court should not overturn findings of fact unless there was no evidence on which to reasonably base such findings or that they were, for other reasons, obviously perverse. An appeal to the Court of Appeal is by way of a rehearing, unless the appellant seeks an order for a new trial or to set aside a verdict, finding, or judgment. Typically, an appeal will engage the “setting aside” option. 10.5 Court-Imposed Conditions on Granting an Appeal The court may impose conditions on the grant- ing of an appeal, such as provision for security for costs and/or for consequential orders regard- ing enforcement. An unsuccessful party may seek a stay of execution pending an appeal’s outcome, if otherwise the appeal would be ren- dered nugatory.
540 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook