An appeal is a phrase that we hear much more often than we think. Looking through the transmissions of court hearings or seeing similar scenes in films, it can be noted that a judge often mentions this document after passing a verdict or court decision. People who do not face litigation often do not know its significance, as well as why, where and when. In this article, we will examine what an appeal of the Civil Procedure Code is. After all, knowledge of the intricacies of civilian production will never hurt.
Appeal: concept
An appeal is a document in which the parties disagree with the decision made by the trial court as a result of the proceedings. For a more detailed understanding, we will analyze the standard situation in this case. Suppose that citizen Petrov appears in the trial as the plaintiff in the case of damage to his property. The defendant is someone Ivanov, who does not admit guilt, but refuses to pay the material damage inflicted on the plaintiff. Ultimately, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence against the defendant and Petrov’s lawsuit did not satisfy. In this case, Petrov has the legal right to appeal the decision of the court, so he draws up an appeal. Any party to the proceedings has the same right to file it if they disagree with the court decision.
If the court finds the defendant Ivanov guilty and awards him compensation for the damage, the defendant also has the right to file an appeal if he disagrees with this decision. It is in this way that appeals proceedings arise. Both parties can initiate it, as well as the prosecutor involved in the case.
The appeal of the Code of Civil Procedure, in addition to disagreement, must also contain the requirements of the court. They may consist in changing the content of the decision or its complete cancellation. In other words, one simply cannot disagree with a court decision. Reasonable arguments must be made to indicate that the verdict was incorrect.
How to make?
Since the appeal is a document, it must comply with the requirements established by law.
Firstly, it should begin with the name of the court to which it is filed. If the document is started from another point, it may not be accepted for consideration.
Secondly, the appeal must mention all persons involved in the trial. If, when filing a statement of claim, it is sufficient to indicate the plaintiff and the defendant, then in the appeal it is necessary to name all third parties, including the prosecutor, participating in the proceedings.
Thirdly, the details of the court decision, which is disputed, must be indicated in the appeal. Next, the points should disclose all the moments in which, in the opinion of the person filing the appeal, violations of the law and the application of the rule of law were committed.
Fourth, requirements and wishes should be indicated. The court will be guided by them when making a decision.
Where to file an appeal?
After the complaint has been drafted, a logical question arises: “Which court should it be filed with?” The appeal Code of Civil Procedure is considered in each case by different courts. Complaints about decisions of one body for the protection of rights and the interest of citizens are considered by a completely different, higher one.
- An appeal to the district court is filed with the aim of challenging decisions made by law enforcement agencies. In this case, the person filing the complaint should not be sent to the organization in person. It is served in the office of the institution that made the decision. In this case, it is a magistrate's court. From this instance, the complaint will be forwarded to a higher authority for further consideration.
- An appeal to the regional court or other institution of the subject (city of federal significance, autonomous okrug, republic, autonomous region) is filed to challenge decisions taken by the district body for the protection of the rights and interests of citizens.
- An appeal to the Judicial Collegium for the consideration of civil cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is filed to challenge the decisions of law enforcement bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which were adopted by them as a court of primary (first) instance.
- An appeal to the board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is filed to challenge decisions that were adopted as the body of initial (first) instance by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
The procedures affecting the consideration of the appeal by various courts are enshrined in Article 320 (Clause 1) of the
Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. I would also like to mention that any appeal filed immediately to the court, which should consider it, will not be accepted. It is served exclusively through the authority that made the decision.
Terms of Appeal
In criminal and civil proceedings, the deadlines for filing an appeal vary widely. A civil appeal is possible within one month. In accordance with Articles 107 and 199 (3 hours) of the Code of Civil Procedure, this period begins on the day after the final, reasoned court decision is made. This period ends on the same day that it was started, but already next month. In other words, if the document indicates September 1, 2016, then it expires on October 1 of that year.
The person who filed an appeal has a legal right to refuse it. This can be done at any stage of the appeal, but before the ruling of the court of second instance is issued. After that, to refuse a complaint is simply inexpedient. Since if errors are found in the first decision, the rejection of the complaint will not be an occasion to leave these points unattended. If the decision is left in its original form, it is not required to be revoked.
The refusal of the complaint must be submitted in writing to the court examining it, that is, to the appeal. If the complaint has not yet been sent to it by the first institution, then the withdrawal of the application is submitted to the court that issued the decision in the civil case.
Missed Deadline Recovery
The legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the right to restore the missed deadline in which an appeal is possible. To do this, a person who missed the deadlines within which the appeal can be filed must apply to the court considering the case with a request for the restoration of this deadline. Simultaneously with this application, the appeal itself against the verdict must also be filed.
First, the court will decide the issue of restoring the deadline for filing a complaint, and only when a positive decision is made will the appeal itself be accepted. The resumption of this period is possible only if there are good reasons that prevented the timely filing of an appeal.
Good reasons to restore a term
Reasons may be considered valid in the following situations:
- If the court did not properly explain to the participants in what order and in what time frame an appeal may be filed in a civil case. Such situations in practice occur infrequently, but still take place. Since it is the duty of the court to clarify this issue to all parties to the case, if these obligations are not observed, the court will be recognized as the guilty party in missing the deadline, therefore, the parties, as affected persons, have the right to renew the appeal deadlines.
- If a person was not able to appeal for reasons beyond his control. For example, if he was seriously ill, was in a health care facility, was detained and placed in a pre-trial detention center, kidnapped, etc.
- In the event that persons interested in the court decision were not present at the time of the decision and received a copy of it within the time frame that did not allow filing a complaint. This is possible in situations where the judgment was not delivered by the postal staff to the addressee at the appointed time, or if the relevant documents were sent with a delay from the court registry.
Disregard complaint
In cases where the complaint does not meet the requirements for its preparation, the court has the right not to subject the document to further consideration. Such a decision must be made within five days from the moment the complaint was received in court. A decision is made in the form of a court ruling. It indicates the time during which the person who filed the complaint must correct all non-compliance with the requirements. If the appeal of the Civil Procedure Code is corrected in accordance with the law, the court will be required to accept it.
Objections to the appeal
After the court of first instance accepts the appeal, it has an obligation to send a copy of this document to each person participating in the case. This norm is clearly spelled out in article 325 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. This is done so that the participants in the case are notified of this circumstance and have the opportunity to file their objection regarding the complaint in due time. The objection is submitted in writing to the court that made the decision.
Appeal appeal deadline
The parties may file their objection to the appeal within the time established by the court. In other words, in each individual case, the court independently decides on the timing. They should be reasonable: take into account the time of delivery of correspondence to the parties to the process, the complexity of the case and other significant circumstances. Before this period expires, the court is not entitled to refer the complaint to a higher authority for consideration.
The order of the proceedings
After all the deadlines are met, the complaint is submitted further to the court of the second appeal instance. After studying all the documents, this body is obliged to notify the participants in the case about the time and place to consider the complaint.
The case is reopened, but by another court, in accordance with the same rules as last time.
Composition of the court
All cases received by the appellate court are considered collectively, that is, by a panel of judges. The exception is only district organizations. One presiding judge stands out from the judges - he opens the meeting and reads out all the decisions. But despite this, all judges have equal voting rights. Questions are resolved by voting.
The decision of the first court may be reversed or amended if, for example, mistakes were made during the conduct of the case. Such may be the absence of the judge’s signature on the document or the data of another official not indicated in this proceeding. However, typos and formal issues alone cannot cause a decision to be canceled if it is otherwise correctly delivered.
The absence in the case of the minutes of the meeting, the responsibility of which lies with the secretary, may cause the annulment of the court decision. It is also canceled if the judge misinterprets the law. It is precisely so that the law is interpreted correctly, and a collegial way of making a decision is applied. If a decision is made by several judges at once, the likelihood that the law will be misunderstood is significantly reduced.
Terms of consideration of the complaint
All cases considered in a court of second instance (appeal) in civil matters must be completed within a period of two months from the day the complaint was received in court. In this case, the time of receipt of the complaint in the second court is taken into account. The deadlines for filing and the time of its consideration in the court of primary (first) instance in this case are not taken into account.
Otherwise, things are only with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. A period of not more than three months is established for him. This is due to the fact that the Supreme Court considers the most complex complaints.
Appeal of the decision of the court of appeal
The decision of the court of appeal, as in the first case, may be appealed. In practice, this happens infrequently, since the parties usually stop already at the appeal stage. If this does not happen, the persons file a complaint already against the decision of the court of appeal. It is called cassation.
In order to file a cassation appeal, a six-month period has been set from the day the decision of the court of second instance was issued.