Appellate courts

An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellate courts other than supreme courts are sometimes named as Intermediate appellate court.

The Court of Appeal of the High Court of Hong Kong (commonly cited as "CA" or "HKCA") is the second most senior court in the Hong Kong legal system. It deals with appeals on all civil and criminal cases from the Court of First Instance and the District Court. It is one of two courts that make up the High Court of Hong Kong (which was formerly known as the Supreme Court of Hong Kong). Sometimes criminal appeals from Magistrates' Courts with general public importance are also dealt with in the Court of Appeal, either by referral by a single judge from the Court of First Instance, or upon granting of leave on application for review by the Secretary for Justice.

Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, commonly known as the Appeal Court, is the second most senior court in the Sri Lankan legal system, with only the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka above it. Established in 1971, under the Court of Appeal Act No. 44 of 1971 the Appeal Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court or any lower court, while its own decisions may be additionally appealed to the Supreme Court. The Appeal Court his headed by the President of the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal of Tuvalu is established by sections 134 & 135 of the Constitution of Tuvalu to hear appeals from decisions of the High Court of Tuvalu and to determine the Law of Tuvalu. The administration of the court is set out in the Superior Courts Act (1987) and in the Court of Appeal Rules (2009). The Court of Appeal of Tuvalu determined appeals for the first time in 2009. Tomkins, Fisher and Paterson JJA (judges from New Zealand) were appointed to decide two cases:

The Court of Appeals (Filipino: Hukuman ng Apelasyon) is the second-highest judicial court in the Philippines, next to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeals consists of 1 Presiding Justice and 68 Associate Justices. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Court of Appeals "reviews not only the decisions and orders of the Regional Trial Courts nationwide but also those of the Court of Tax Appeals, as well as the awards, judgments, final orders or resolutions of, or authorized by twenty-one (21) quasi-judicial agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions mentioned in Rule 43 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, plus the National Amnesty Commission (Pres. Proclamation No. 347 of 1994) and the Office of the Ombudsman (Fabian v. Desierto, 295 SCRA 470). Under Republic Act No. 9282, which elevated the Court of Tax Appeals to the same level of the Court of Appeals, en banc decisions of the Court of Tax Appeals are now subject to review by the Supreme Court instead of the Court of Appeals (as opposed to what is currently provided in Section 1, Rule 43 of the Rules of Court). Added to the formidable list are the decisions and resolutions of the National Labor Relations Commission which are now initially reviewable by the Court of Appeals, instead of a direct recourse to the Supreme Court, via petition for certiorari under Rule 65 (St. Martin Funeral Homes v. National Labor Relations Commission, 295 SCRA 414)".

The Court of Appeal (Irish: An Chúirt Achomhairc) is a court in Ireland that sits between the High Court and Supreme Court. Its jurisdiction derives from Article 34.4. It was established in 2014, taking over the existing appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in 2014 and replacing the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Courts-Martial Appeal Court (subject to transitional provisions). Appeals to the Supreme Court are at that Court's discretion.

The Court of Appeal in Ireland was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 as the final appellate court within Ireland, then under British rule. A last appeal from this court could be taken to the House of Lords in London.

The Court of Appeal of New Zealand (Māori: Te Kōti Pīra o Aotearoa) is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal has existed as a separate court since 1862 but, until 1957, it was composed of judges of the High Court sitting periodically in panels. In 1957 the Court of Appeal was reconstituted as a permanent court separate from the High Court. It is located in Wellington.

The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with other royal, state and church courts but as those were disbanded, the role of the Court of Session ascended. The Acts of Union establishing the United Kingdom provided that the court will "remain in all time coming".

The Court of Appeal in Chancery was created in 1851 to hear appeals of decisions and decrees made in the Chancery Court. The appeals in the court were heard by the Lord Chancellor alone, or as a tripartite panel (supplemented by two Lords Justices of Appeal). Cases here could be further appealed to the House of Lords.