Chapter Six - General Rules for Church Courts

An appeal is a signed document given in by:

1. a member of a court who has voted in the minority; or
2. a person who is or was a party at the bar in a case before the court

and is designed to bring the decision of the court under the review of a higher court.

A party who wishes to appeal must clearly state his intention at the time the decision is announced by the moderator, by saying: "I intend to appeal". The moderator must inform any party at the bar of his right of appeal. (see appendix 4)

The appeal, stating reasons for dissatisfaction with the decision, must be given in within ten days (not including the day of the decision). A party's right of appeal lapses if the appeal has not been lodged with the clerk of the lower court by the end of the specified period.

A person who intends to appeal against a decision of a court may request extracts relevant to the case and is entitled to all relevant extracts of the proceedings and to copies of all relevant papers.

An appellant may withdraw his appeal at any time and, having formed the intention of withdrawing, he ought to do so without delay.

A court may decline to receive a disrespectful or improper appeal, but it grants through its clerk advice as to the drawing up of a document in proper form.

Upon receiving notice of an appeal against one of its decisions the court appoints two of its members to act as respondents to defend its decision in the higher court.

An appeal against the final decision or judgment on a case halts execution of the decision or judgment until the appeal is disposed of by the higher court or it lapses by not being prosecuted (except for the case cited in rule 4:73).

An appeal on a part of a case or a point of procedure, unless expressly indicated to the contrary, does not halt procedure or prevent the court from prosecuting the matter and ripening it to final judgment.

If no appeal is taken against the final judgment, all appeals previously taken fall.

If a lower court against whose decision an appeal has been taken considers the action of the appellant:

1. to be evidently without sufficient substance; or
2. to be deliberately obstructive

it may proceed without regard to the appeal. If the court proceeds it does so at its own risk, the rights of appellants being always reserved.

A court transmits to its immediate higher court any appeal which it has received against one of its own decisions together with all records and documents connected with it. The appellant should satisfy himself that all documents necessary have been transmitted, as the responsibility for this rests with him.

An appeal places the parties to the case, namely the respondent court and the appellant, at the bar of the higher court, and they take no part in judging the case. The parties must be duly cited by the clerk of the lower court concerned.

In dealing with an appeal transmitted for its judgment, a court:

1. calls the parties (i.e. appellants and the respondent court) to its bar;
2. hears read the record of the case in the lower court and relative documents, or, if printed, may take them as read;
3. hears the appellants or, if there are more than two, their representatives to a number it determines;
4. hears the respondents appointed by the lower court;
5. hears the appellants in reply;
6. calls for questions from members of the court;
7. removes all parties from the bar;
8. in the case of the Assembly, hears from the special judicial committee, as referred to in rules 5:50, 78;
9. deliberates on the case before it.

When parties are removed from the bar, it is at the discretion of the court whether they are permitted to hear the discussion of the case.

No document may be read or appear among the papers of the court (printed or written) unless it was before the court of first instance or was offered to it and rejected.

A court sustains an appeal if either:

1. it finds that the lower court has not followed correct procedure and that this is considered to have been prejudicial to the right determination of the case; or
2. it judges that the decision of the lower court upon the information before that court was not a reasonable decision.

When an appeal is sustained, the decision is not necessarily reversed, but may be altered in part or in whole, and the matter may be remitted to the lower court with particular instructions to take specified action, or with the general instruction to deal with the matter according to the law of the church, or with both.

A court dismisses an appeal if:

1. it finds the procedure of the lower court not to have been such as to prejudice the right determination of the case; and
2. it finds the decision of the lower court to have been reasonable upon the information before that court.

When an appeal is dismissed, the decision of the lower court stands affirmed. Dismissal on the ground of incompetency is not permissible without the appellant being heard concerning the matter.

When the court has reached a decision, the parties are recalled to the bar and the decision is announced to them.