Appeals

A person convicted by a magistrates' court may appeal to the Crown Court against the sentence imposed if he has pleaded guilty; or against the conviction or sentence imposed if he has not pleaded guilty. Where the appeal is on a point or procedure of law, either the prosecutor or the defendant may appeal from the magistrates' court to the High Court. Ap­peals from the Crown Court, either against conviction or against sen­tence, are made to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). The House of Lords is the final appeal court for all cases, from either the High Court or the Court of Appeal. Before a case can go to the Lords, the court hearing the previous appeal must certify that it involves a point of law of general public importance and either that court or the Lords must grant leave for the appeal to be heard. The nine Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are the judges who deal with Lords appeals.

The Attorney-General may seek the opinion of the Court of Appeal on a point of law which has arisen in a case where a person tried on in­dictment is acquitted; the court has power to refer the point to the House of Lords if necessary. The acquittal in the original case is not affected, nor is the identity of the acquitted person revealed without his or her consent. Under a provision in the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which has not yet been implemented, the Attorney General would be empowered, where he considered that a sentence passed by the Crown Court was over-lenient, to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, which would be able, if it thought fit, to increase the sentence within the statutory maxi­mum laid down by Parliament for the offence.