CRI 6 - Appeals PDF

B24 CRI - Appeals - CPC Provisions - 373\. Interpretation of this Part 374\. When appeal may be made (**cannot appeal against CCDC, no right of appeal until sentenced.**) - 375\. Limited right of appeal against plea of guilty (i.e. **only on the l...

B24 CRI - Appeals - CPC Provisions - 373\. Interpretation of this Part 374\. When appeal may be made (**cannot appeal against CCDC, no right of appeal until sentenced.**) - 375\. Limited right of appeal against plea of guilty (i.e. **only on the legality of the sentence)** - 376\. Appeal against acquittal and sentence in private prosecutions (**No appeal against sentence or acquital**) - 377\. Procedure for appeal **(Notice of Appeal within 14 days after the date of the sentence (377(2)(a))**) - 378\. Petition of appeal (petition to be filed within **14 days** or be appeal be treated as **withdrawn** (378(3))); **limited** grounds for appeal (s378(6)) - 379\. Records of court proceedings to be sent to appellate court and respondent - 380\. Appeal specially allowed in certain cases (Court to decide as it **deems fit** the terms and conditions of the Appeal) - 381\. Procedure when appellant in prison - 382\. Bail pending appeal - 383\. Stay of execution pending appeal - 384\. Summary **rejection** of appeal if no question of law - 385\. Notice and time of hearing - 386\. Appeal to be heard by one or more Judges - 387\. Procedure at hearing - 388\. Non-appearance of respondent (May be heard in the Respondent\'s **absence** or adjourned of properly served) - 389\. Arrest of respondent in certain cases - 390\. Decision on appeal (Court may make such order as it **[deems fit]**) - 391\. Omission to frame charge - 392\. Taking additional evidence - 393\. Death of party to appeal - 394\. Grounds for reversal by appellate court - 394A. Public Prosecutor to file petition for confirmation - 394B. Court of Appeal to review sentence of death - 394C. Powers of Court of Appeal in petition for confirmation - 394D. Permission for parties to be heard - 394E. Orders on review (**Court must set aside death sentence**) - 409\. Costs - Key points - Statutory framework for appeals Types of appeals - 386 CPC - MAs are usually heard by one judge but the CJ can direct three or more judges (must be an uneven number) to hear an appeal if it involves an important point of law (e.g. novel sentencing framework or issue) Appeals before the Court of Appeal - **[7th column of the First Schedule]** to the CPC **Convictions**: Any conviction by a court can be appealed. **Sentences**: The sentence imposed by the court can also be appealed. **Orders**: Certain orders made by the court, such as orders for compensation or restitution, can be appealed. - What can appeals be made? - Orders of finality and not interlocutory rulings or orders - Ang Cheng Hai v Public Prosecutor \[1995\] 3 SLR(R) 151 - when? ** Who** can appeal? - Only a **[party]** in a criminal case or matter may appeal against any judgment, sentence, or order, can appeal (s377(1) CPC) - Appeal by Public Prosecutor (s374(1) CPC) - As a matter of public policy, the prosecution is not restricted from appraling against excessive sentence (Public Prosecutor v Lim Choon Teck \[2015\] 5 SLR) - Appeal by the Accused (s375 CPC) - **[ Procedure]** -- see especially: - Documentary requirements for Appeal - Notice of appeal **[14 day timeframe (s377(2) CPC)]** - substantive requirements of the NOA (s377(3) CPC) - NOA Format Form 66 CPR NOA triggers Grounds of Decision and Record of Proceedings - Petition of appeal (**[14 days]** to lodge petition of appeal s378(1) and (2) CPC) - Petition of Appeal Form 67 CPR Substantive restrictions on the Petition of Appeal (s378(6) CPC) - **[Cannot raise new grounds not present in the Notice of Appeal]** - **[Time extension]** to file appeal (s380(1) CPC) - PP v Tan Peng Khoon, relating to the threshold for granting extensions of time, will NOT be tested owing to recent developments in the Court of Appeal in September 2022. These developments took place after the course outline was finalised. - **Withdrawal** of appeal - s378(5) CPC s378(4) CPC ** Stay of execution** of sentence pending appeal (s383(1) CPC) - Public Prosecutor v Adith s/o Sarvotham \[2014\] 3 SLR 649 at \[29\]: - Admission of **fresh evidence** on appeal (s392 (1) CPC) - s390(1) CPC - In an appeal from **conviction,** Court may reverse, alter or enhance the sentence s390(4)-(8) CPC - Court may alter charge - GDC v PP \[2020\] 5 SLR 1130 at \[29\] - s390(3) CPC - Appeal against **sentence** - Wong Tian Jun De Beers v Public Prosecutor \[2021\] SGHC 273 - s394 CPC - The court must be satisfied that there is an error in law or excessive sentence, for there to be a **reversal** - Criminal Revisions - - **wh**at is Criminal Revision? - Criminal revisions are used when an order is not just **[manifestly inadequate or excessive but is fundamentally wrong]**. Criminal revision involves **[asking the High Court to exercise its revisionary or supervisory power over a subordinate lower court]**. This is typically done when something illegal or palpably wrong has occurred - Differences from Appeals and Criminal Motions: Unlike appeals, which are standalone processes, criminal revisions are used to address clear errors on the face of the record. For example, if a district judge in a state court sentences someone to a punishment they have no power to impose, this would be a case for criminal revision1 - **When** can Court revisionary jurisdiction obe invoked? - **[at any time:]** Before trial In the course of a trial As an appeal is ongoing - Oon Heng Lye v Public Prosecutor \[2017\] 5 SLR 1064: - require a demonstration not only that there has been **[some error but also]** that **[material and serious injustice has been occasioned as a result]**. - One common example of "serious injustice": Lower court imposes a sentence outside the prescribed punishment. This triggers the exercise of revisionary powers. - 400\. Power to call for records of State Courts - 401\. Powers of General Division of High Court on revision - Yin Yang - s374 (5) No appeal against order made by Magistrate, District judge , the State Court registrar or the Registrar of the Supreme Court in any CCDC 402\. Orders on revision - The threshold for revision in relation to CCDC orders is the same as that when the High Court is called to exercise its more general powers of revision. Read \[67\] to \[71\] of Li Weiming for a better appreciation of the salient considerations. - 403\. Permission for parties to appear - 404\. Power to revise orders made at **[CCDC]** - Criminal Revision - Criminal Motions - **What** are Criminal Motions? A criminal motion is not a standalone action like an appeal. It is typically attached to another matter before the court. For example, a criminal motion might be filed to introduce fresh evidence that can be used in an appeal or to request bail for an accused pending the outcome of the trial - 3\. Comparison with Appeals and Revisions: Unlike appeals, which are standalone actions against a court\'s decision, **[criminal motions are supplementary]**. They are also different from criminal revisions, which involve asking the High Court to exercise its supervisory power over a lower court due to an illegal or palpably wrong order - 408\. Adjournment of Criminal Motion may be adjourned from time to time - 405\. Motion - **[Important:]** Amarjeet Singh v PP \[2021\] 4 SLR 841 clarifies the ambit of a criminal motion (see \[27\] -- \[28\] and \[33\] in particular). **[Cannot be a means for parties to circumvent the general rule against appeals for interlocutory or procedural rulings.]** - 406\. Notice of motion (**[7 day notice prior to the hearing]**) - s406(2) Service of the criminal Motion Notice must be filed **[7 days]** before the hearing - 407\. Form and issue of notice of motion - 408\. Adjournment of hearing - 408A. Dealing with motion in absence of parties, etc. - 408B. Decision or order affecting lower court - Forms - Form 72: General Form 73: Variation of Bail Form 74: Extension of time Form 75: Adduction of further evidence