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A person who is convicted of an offence (the defendant) has the right to ask a higher court to review a decision made by a lower court. The CDPP can also appeal against a sentence imposed on a defendant. The person who appeals is called the appellant.
You can see where the appeal process fits in on this flowchart: Steps in the Criminal Prosecution Process.
Only the defendant and the CDPP can appeal. The defendant can appeal against his or her conviction, if he or she pleaded not guilty and was found guilty by a jury after a trial. The defendant can also appeal against his or her sentence.
The CDPP can only appeal against sentence and cannot appeal against a not guilty verdict from the jury.
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It is important to know that an appeal is not a re-trial. It is a hearing to determine whether the law has been properly applied.
An appeal is started by the appellant filing a “notice of appeal”. There are time limits for filing this notice. The appellant must also file “grounds of appeal” which are the reasons why the appellate thinks that the judge, or jury in an appeal against conviction, made the wrong decision or that the trial wasn’t conducted according to law.
The appeal will be heard and decided by a judge or judges (depending on which higher court the appeal is heard in). The judge may give his or her decision straight away, or might put the decision off to another day, if the matter is more complex.