Form of petition of appeal

9.1  Petitions of appeal must be produced on A4 paper, securely bound on the left, using both sides of the paper[46].

9.2  Where leave to appeal has been obtained, it is enough for the petition of appeal to be signed by the appellants or their agents. In appeals where leave to appeal is not required (for example, in most Scottish appeals) the petition of appeal must be certified as reasonable by two counsel from the relevant jurisdiction and signed by them[47]. In Scottish appeals a certificate of difference of opinion must also be included where appropriate[48].

9.3  On the back page of the petition, below the certificate of service, there should be inserted the neutral citation of the judgment appealed against, the references of any law report of the case in the courts below and subject matter catchwords for indexing (whether or not the case has been reported).

Case title

9.4  Petitions of appeal to the House of Lords carry the same title as in the court below, except that the parties are described as appellant(s) and respondent(s). For reference purposes, the names of parties to the original action who are not parties to the appeal should nevertheless be included in the title: their names should be enclosed in square brackets. The names of all parties should be given in the same sequence as in the title used in the court below.

9.5  Petitions in which trustees, executors, etc. are parties are titled in the short form, for example Trustees of John Black's Charity (Respondents) v. White (Appellant).

9.6  In any petition concerning minors or where in the court below the title used has been such as to conceal the identity of one or more parties to the action, this fact should be clearly drawn to the attention of the Judicial Office at the time the petition is lodged, so that the title adopted in the House of Lords can take account of the need for anonymity. Petitions involving minors are normally given a title in the form In re B (see also direction 9.9).

9.7  In case titles involving the Crown, the abbreviation "R" meaning "Regina" is used. "R" is always given first. Case titles using this abbreviation take the form R v Jones (Appellant) or R v Jones (Respondent) (as the case may be) or R (on the application of Jones) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent).

9.8  Apart from the above, Latin is not used in case titles.

Anonymity and reporting restrictions

9.9  In any appeal concerning children, the parties should, in addition to considering the case title to be used, also consider whether it would be appropriate for the House to make an order under s 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. The parties should always inform the Judicial Office if such an order has been made by a court below. A request for such an order to be made by the House should be made in writing, preferably on behalf of all parties to the appeal, as soon as possible after the appeal has been presented and not later than 14 days before the start of the hearing.

9.10  Direction 9.9 also applies to a request for an order under s 4 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981.

Human Rights Act 1998

9.11  Appellants must notify the Judicial Office in writing when:

(a)  the House is to be asked to consider whether to make, uphold or reverse a declaration that a provision of primary or subordinate legislation is incompatible with a European Human Rights Convention right[49], or is to be asked to consider any issue which may lead the House to make such a declaration, or where such an issue is or may be raised in respect of a judicial act;

(b)  a party seeks to challenge an act of a public authority under the Human Rights Act 1998; or

(c)  a party relies in whole or in part on the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Appellants should indicate whether notification is made under (a), (b) or (c) above (see direction 33.1). They should set out briefly the arguments involved; and state whether the point was taken in the courts below. In appeals in which (a) above is an issue, the Crown has a right to be joined as a party to the appeal (see direction 33.2).

Service

9.12  A copy of the petition of appeal must be served on the respondents or their agents, either by delivery in person or by first class post, before lodgment at the Judicial Office. A certificate of such service noting the full name and address of the respondents or their agents must be endorsed on the back of the original petition and signed by the appellants or their agents[50].

Lodgment

9.13  The original petition of appeal together with seven copies must be lodged at the Judicial Office with the prescribed fee. If leave to appeal was granted by the court below, a copy of the order appealed against must also be lodged and, if separate, a copy of the order granting leave to appeal to the House of Lords. If the order is not immediately available, the petition should be lodged in time and the order lodged as soon as possible thereafter.

9.14  Once the petition of appeal has been lodged, it is presented to the House and recorded in the House of Lords Business (the record of the Houses's proceedings). A copy of the House of Lords Business is sent to all parties who have entered appearance (direction 9.15).

Appearance for respondents

9.15  Respondents or their agents should enter appearance to an appeal as soon as they have received service of the petition of appeal, by informing the Judicial Office by post of their name and address or that of their firm and paying the prescribed fee.

9.16  Respondents who do not intend to take part in the proceedings do not need to enter appearance, but the Judicial Office sends communications concerning the appeal only to those who have entered appearance. An order for costs will not be made in favour of a respondent who has not entered appearance.

47   Standing Order IV. In such cases, counsel's signatures are required even if the appellants propose to conduct the appeal in person. For the purposes of the Standing Order, "counsel" includes any solicitor who has obtained a Higher Courts Qualification in respect of civil proceedings. Back

48   See Standing Order XI. Back

49   Human Rights Act 1998, which gives further effect in domestic law to much of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms agreed by the Council of Europe at Rome on 4 November 1950. Back

50   For style see Appendix A, Form 5. Back