Appeal against a decision of the district court

Appeal

A party dissatisfied with the judgment or decision of the district court may appeal against the decision, unless it is express-ly prohibited in some case. However, before the court of appeal takes a decision on the appeal, leave for continued con-sideration is, as a rule, required.

When a case is decided, the parties are given written instructions for applying for amendment, and the instructions are also available in the offices of the district court.

The appeal instructions show, for example, the court to which the appeal must be lodged. The appeal instructions ap-pended to the decision of the district court must be followed.

Declaration of intent to appeal

The appellant shall first declare his or her intent to appeal the decision of the district court within seven days from the date of the decision. The intent to appeal must be reported either orally or in writing to the district court that decided the matter.

If the declaration of intent to appeal is not delivered by the district court within the time limit, its decision becomes final. There is a form for the declaration of intent to appeal, but the notification can be made without a form. In each of its deci-sions, the district court shall state how an appeal can be lodged.

The opposing party of the appellant may also appeal against the judgment of the district court even if it has not declared intent to appeal (counter-appeal).

Appeal deadline

The time limit for lodging an appeal shall be 30 days from the date on which the decision of the district court is declared or given. An appeal which has not been lodged within the time limit shall not be admissible. In this case, the decision be-comes final.

Appeal document

The appeal shall be submitted to the district court, but it shall be addressed to the court of appeal. The appeal instructions also show what must be stated in the appeal document.

The appeal document shall indicate:

1. the district court decision that is being appealed;
2. which points in the decision of the district court are being appealed;
3. what changes are requested in the decision of the district court;
4. what are the reasons for the changes and how, in the view of the appellant, the statement of the reasons of the district court is erroneous;
   4a. if leave for continued consideration is needed, the grounds for granting leave for continued consideration and the reasons on the basis of which the appellant deems that such grounds exist, if these are not otherwise apparent from the appeal document;
5. the evidence referred to and what the appellant intends to prove with each piece of evidence; and
6. should the appellant wish to do so, a request for the holding of a main hearing in the court of appeal.

In a civil case, the appellant may not refer in the court of appeal to other circumstances or evidence than those presented in the district court, unless he or she establishes a probability that he or she had not been able to refer to the circum-stance or evidence in the district court or that he or she has had a justifiable reason for not doing so.

Counter-appeal

However, after the opposing party has appealed against the decision of the district court, another party may also decide to appeal against the decision of the district court, even if it had originally been prepared to leave the case to the decision of the district court. This possibility of appeal is referred to as a counter-appeal.

The lodging of a counter-appeal does not require a declaration of intent to appeal. A counter-appeal shall be lodged with-in two weeks of the end of the appellant’s appeal period. Instructions for lodging a counter-appeal are also included in the appeal instructions by the district court.

The counter-appeal shall lapse if the appeal is withdrawn, lapses or is dismissed without considering its merits or the ap-pellant is not granted leave for continued consideration. However, the counter-appeal does not lapse if the appeal is not withdrawn until during the main hearing.

Response to the appeal

If necessary, the court of appeal shall request a response from the opposing party to the appeal. In connection with the request for a response, the court of appeal shall also send the appeal and the documents relating to it for information.

In the response, the respondent shall indicate:

• identification of the case, such as the case number and the names of the parties,
• whether the respondent admits or contests the requested changes; and
• his or her opinion on the reasons supplied for the request of the appellant and the circumstances to which the respondent wants to refer.
• the evidence of the opposing party and what each evidence is intended to prove.

In a civil case, the appellant may in the court of appeal not refer to circumstances and evidence other than that which had been presented to the district court, unless the appellant can establish a probability that he or she could not have re-ferred to the circumstance or evidence in the district court or that he or she otherwise had justified cause not to do so.

Leave for continued consideration

When an appeal is lodged against a decision of a district court, leave for continued consideration is, as a rule, required in the case. Leave for continued consideration is required in both criminal, civil and petitionary matters.

Notwithstanding the above, a defendant in a criminal case in which a sentence more severe than imprisonment for eight months has been imposed on him or her does not need leave of continued consideration in any respect in the case, if the appeal concerns the offence of which he or she is found guilty or the sentence. In assessing the severity of the sentence, no consideration is given to a fine or other penal sanction imposed in addition to imprisonment (for example, a driving ban and a forfeiture sanction).

The prosecutor or the injured party do not need leave of continued consideration in any respect in a case in which a sen-tence more severe than imprisonment for eight months has been imposed on the defendant, and the appeal concerns the offence of which the defendant has been found guilty or the sentence imposed on the defendant.

Leave for continued consideration shall be granted if:

• there is cause to suspect the correctness of the final result of the decision of the District Court;
• it is not possible to assess the correctness of the final result of the decision of the District Court without granting leave for continued consideration;
• in view of the application of the law in other, similar cases it is important to grant leave for continued considera-tion in the matter; or
• there is another important reason for granting leave.

However, leave for continued consideration need not be granted solely in order to reassess the evidence, if the appeal allegedly raises doubts as to the correctness of the outcome of the district court’s decision, unless on the basis of the grounds presented in the appeal, there is justified reason to suspect the correctness of the final result of the decision of the District Court.

The court of appeal decides the question of the granting of leave for continued consideration in written proceedings on the basis of the decision of the district court, the appeal, the possible response from the opposing party and if necessary also on other trial documentation.

If leave for continued consideration is granted in the matter, the appellant and the opposing party of the appellant shall be informed of this.

If leave for continued consideration is not granted, the decision of the district court remains final.

Procedural stages of the case at the court of appeal

The preparation of the case at the court of appeal begins when the appeal document arrives at the court of appeal. The scope and form of the preparation depend on the quality of the matter. The preparation is carried out by one judge at the court of appeal (the member responsible for the preparation). If necessary, the judge shall be assisted by an assistant judge of the court of appeal.

The court of appeal may exhort the appellant to supplement the deficient appeal within a time limit. An appeal shall always be dismissed if the exhortation is not complied with and the appeal is so deficient that it is not a valid basis for the pro-ceedings.

If leave for continued consideration is not required in an appellate matter or if leave is granted, the consideration of the matter continues at the court of appeal.

The opposing party of the appellant is requested to hand in a response. The court of appeal may also request statements from the parties concerned. A hearing may also be held during the preparation at which the parties are invited and in which the questions relating to the matter are explained orally for the main hearing. A decision on the submission of the main hearing will be made in the preparation. A decision will also be made on the acquisition of an expert opinion, the production of written evidence, the submission of a review and the witnesses to be heard.

The preparation also includes practical measures for organising the main hearing, such as agreeing on the time of the main hearing and inviting the parties and witnesses to this event.

Mediation in accordance with the Act on Arbitration in Civil Matters is also possible in the court of appeal.

Cases may be decided in the court of appeal either by written procedure or in the main hearing.

Written proceedings

In the absence of a main hearing, the matter shall be decided on the basis of written evidence in a written procedure.

In written proceedings, the assistant judge of the court of appeal shall submit to the judges participating in the decision the decision of the district court, the appeal, the response and any other material gathered in the court of appeal, his or her proposal for a decision and any memorandum he or she may have drawn up on the matter.

The decision composition will then meet for a presentation in which the assistant judge will present the matter orally. The judges will discuss the matter and, at the end of the day, give their opinions. If necessary, a vote shall be taken.

The parties and the public may not be present at the presentation of the court of appeal.

The court of appeal shall send a copy of its decision to the appellant and the respondent. A copy will also be sent to the defendant of the criminal case if the decision of the district court has been amended on his or her behalf.

The main hearing

If an oral preparatory hearing or a main hearing is held, the appellant shall be summoned by the court of appeal. The summons shall indicate the consequences of absence. The appellant is summoned to the main hearing under the threat that the hearing of the appeal in the event of his or her exclusion will be terminated in respect of the matter to which the main hearing relates and the decision of the district court will remain in force in that respect. A party may also be sum-moned to the main hearing at the risk of a fine if his or her hearing is necessary to clarify the matter. If he or she does not arrive despite the threat of a fine, he or she may be ordered to be brought to the hearing.

The parties may be summoned to the main hearing by the process server, by letter or by telephone.

The main hearing of the court of appeal is largely similar to that of the district court. Even in the court of appeal, the public can usually follow the proceedings.

At the outset, one of the judges will briefly explain the decision of the district court and what has been decided in the preparation of the matter. He or she then asks whether the statements made by the appellant and the opposing party in the preparation still correspond to their views, after which the appellant and his or her opponent will in turn justify their position and state their opinion of each other’s reasons.

In the main hearing, all the points on which you wish to invoke must be presented orally, as they are the only points to be taken into account in the decision. The material presented in the district court is therefore not automatically taken into account. However, in exceptional circumstances, the case may be decided regardless of the absence of the opposing party and in the form of trial material, taking into account the trial material presented by him or her earlier.

The parties shall present their written evidence and witnesses shall be heard. This will enable the judges of the court of appeal to make their own observations on the reliability of the witnesses’ reports.

Testimony at the main hearing of the court of appeal is similar to that of the district court. If the witness has already taken a witness oath in the district court, there is no need for the witness to give it again in the court of appeal. The same oath still obliges him or her to stick to the truth. The witness is also entitled to compensation in the Court of Appeal.

A witness, expert and a party heard in the district court may be heard without him or her being present by telephone or via video connection if the credibility of the testimony can be reliably assessed in this way. The court of appeal shall de-cide on the method of hearing. However, the parties must be given an opportunity to ask questions to the person who is being heard. In some cases, witness testimonies may also be heard from the recordings of the district court at the main hearing of the court of appeal.

The main hearing ends with closing statements. The parties shall assess the evidence presented and give their views on whether the decision of the district court needs to be amended and how it should be amended. The claim for reimburse-ment of the costs shall be made before the end of the proceedings. The claim shall specify the amount of trial costs and the grounds for them.

Decision

In the case before the court of appeal, in spite of the decision of the district court, a settlement may be made under the same conditions as in the district court.

If the parties do not reach a settlement, in the simplest main hearings the decision may be declared immediately after the hearing. Otherwise, it is issued in the office of the court of appeal. The decision shall normally be given within 30 days of the end of the main hearing.

The decisions of the court of appeal are immediately enforceable. For example, a debt ordered to be paid may be trans-ferred immediately to the enforcement officer for recovery. If a party has appealed against the decision of the court of appeal to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court may, either on request or on its own initiative, order that the decision of the court of appeal shall not be enforced until further notice or that enforcement may not continue.

Appeals against a decision of the court of appeal

A decision given by the court of appeal shall be appealed to the the Supreme Court, which shall, however, first be requested leave to appeal.

An appeal document addressed to the Supreme Court, including an application for leave to appeal and the appeal, shall be submitted to the registry of the court of appeal within 60 days of the decision of the court of appeal.

The court of appeal sends the appeal document to the Supreme Court and attaches to it a copy of the decision of the court of appeal and the documents that have been presented to the court of appeal.