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18.26In all cases where an appellant’s notice is required, PD 20A sets out in some detail what must be included.
1Which must either accompany the notice or be filed and served on all respondents within 21 days of filing the appellant’s notice. The documents that are required
2PD 20A para 11. are:
•one additional copy of the appellant’s notice for the court;
•one copy of a skeleton argument using, or attached to, a COP37 form, either be filed with the appellant’s notice or within 21 days of filing the notice;
3PD 20A paras 16–17. •a sealed copy of the order being appealed;
•a copy of any order giving or refusing permission to appeal, together with a copy of the judge’s reasons for allowing or refusing permission to appeal;
•any witness statements or affidavits in support of any application included in the appellant’s notice;
•the application form and any application notice or response (where relevant to the subject of the appeal);
•any other documents which the appellant reasonably considers necessary to enable the court to reach its decision on the hearing of the application or appeal. PD 20A suggests – correctly – that in almost all cases this will include a chronology;
4PD 20A para 14. •a suitable record of the judgment of the first instance judge; and
•such other documents as the court may direct.
18.27A ‘suitable record’ of the judgment of the first instance judge will be:
•where the judgment has been officially recorded by the court, an approved transcript (not a photocopy);
5PD 20A para 22. •where the judgment has been given in writing, a copy of that judgment endorsed with the judge’s signature;
6PD 20A para 23. •where the judgment was not officially recorded or given in writing, a note prepared by the advocate for the appellant. For purposes of an application for permission to appeal, a note would suffice; where permission to appeal has been granted, the note should be agreed (if possible) with the advocate for the respondent and approved by the first instance judge (or, in the absence of agreement), the judge should be invited in writing to approve one of the two rival versions.
7PD 20A para 24. 18.28Where an appellant is unrepresented before the first instance judge, it is the duty of any advocate for the respondent to make their note of the judgment promptly available – free of charge – where there is no officially recorded judgment or the court directs; similarly, if the appellant was but is no longer represented, it is the duty of their former advocate to make their note available. The appellant should, in turn, submit the note to the appeal judge.
8PD 20A para 25.18.29In some circumstances, the evidence given during the hearing may be of relevance to the appeal. If so, then an official transcript must be obtained or, if the evidence was not officially recorded, a typed version of the judge’s notes of evidence.
9PD 20A para 26. Where the appellant is unrepresented, or represented on a pro bono basis, an application can be made (wherever possible to the first instance judge at the time of seeking permission to appeal) for a transcript of the evidence or the proceedings to be obtained at public expense.
10PD 20A paras 28–29. Such a transcript will only be ordered if the court is satisfied that the cost of such a transcript would be an excessive burden on the appellant and there are reasonable grounds for appeal.
11PD 20A paras 28–29. PD 20A suggests that transcripts or notes of evidence are generally not needed for purposes of seeking permission to appeal,
12PD 20A para 26. although in a case where the evidence will be of relevance if permission is granted, steps should be put in place as quickly as possible to obtain a transcript of the evidence because it can take some time to obtain.
18.30Where it is not possible to provide a document or documents required by PD 20A with the appellant’s notice, the appellant should indicate what documents have not yet been filed, why they have not been filed and when they estimate that they can be filed (and then file and serve them as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter).
13PD 20A para 12.18.31In completing the appellant’s notice and the accompanying skeleton argument it is necessary to be clear as to the distinction between:
•the grounds of appeal: ie what it said that the judge did wrong, which can – and should – be summarised shortly (ie ‘the judge was wrong to find that P was not deprived of his liberty’), which should be set out in box 5 of the COP35 form; and
•the arguments advanced in support of those grounds of appeal: these will be set out in the skeleton argument and will be longer in form, although (as discussed at para 15.22) they should still be concise and to the point.
14See also PD 20A paras 18–21 in relation to the contents of skeleton arguments accompanying appellants’ notices. 18.32The court will issue the appellant’s notice upon it being filed; unless the court orders otherwise, the appellant must serve the appellant’s notice upon each respondent and upon such other persons as the court may direct as soon as practicable and in any event within 21 days of the date on which it was issued.
15COPR r175(3). The appellant must file a certificate of service within seven days of the date on which the notice was served.
16COPR r175(4).18.33It should be noted, finally, that it is possible to apply in an appellant’s notice either for a remedy incidental to the appeal or for an interim remedy, either by including the application in the notice itself or by attaching a COP9 application form to the appellant’s notice (see further chapter 10 in relation to interim remedies).