Civil Appeals System

From time to time decisions are made in error, and the system of appeals is designed to ensure that these errors are corrected. There is a strong public interest in regarding judicial decisions as final and binding, and an open-ended appeals system would undermine this by encouraging unsuccessful litigants to have "another bite at the cherry". Striking a balance between encouraging finality and correcting mistakes is not easy, and explains some of the complications that arise in the area of appeals.As an indispensable part of judicial system, the appeals system serves diversified judicial functions, and is assumed to be neutral and discretionary. As a result of the rapid development of modern societies, the civil appeals systems of many countries are faced with various institutional and practical problems, which severely undermine the effectiveness of the entire judicial system. Therefore, reform of the appeals system becomes one of the most important sections of judicial reforms in various countries.Like other systems, the technical structure and norms of judicial hierarchy are determined by its basic functions thereof. There are two basic functions fulfilled by mechanisms for appeal or review. The first is that of the correction of errors of fact, substantive law or procedure made by the court or tribunal below. The second is that of the harmonious development of the law. Appellate judges tend to be of greater experience and seniority than trial judges and their case load tends to be smaller, giving greater time for consideration; these factors become more more pronounced the higher one moves up the courts hierarchy. In limited circumstances fresh evidence may be admitted before the reviewing court. Appellate courts may also correct divergencys of approach among different courts of first instance.In China, since 1980s, cases of appeal and re-trial have been on a constant rise each year. Up to 1999, the rate of re-trial cases to second-insance judgments rezched 25%. These shocking figures reveal an undeniable fact that the main structure of judicial hierarchy system, the so-called "two-tiered system (the second instance is final)", now exists in name only. It has been impacted, eroded and undermined by re-trial, the so-called "exceptional" and "remedial" procedure.This dissertation takes justice and efficiency as basic values of the institutional arrangement of ideal civil appeals system, and discusses the general principle, structure and function of the civil appeals system. The dissertation then continues to analyze the defects of Chinese civil appeals system and its deep-seated reason in the context of global "access to justice" movement and judicial reform. This analysis is based on local practices as well as foreign experiences and is aimed at the theoretical and practical construction of Chinese civil appeals system. The dissertation consists of four chapters as well as the preface and the conclusion, each chapter focuses on the principles, commencement, reform and reconstruction of the appeals system respectively. It covers 190 000 words.Chapter 1 discusses the basic principle of the civil appeals system. Firstly, the concept of "appeal" is semantically analyzed. Similarly, related notion in English lawand Continental law is compared. Consequently, both the private and public purposes of the civil appeals system are discussed, and four major functions of civil appeals system which are intimately related with the objective (that is "the channel to release dissatisfaction", "realization of procedural check and balance", "assurance of judicial -impartiality" and "achievement of uniformly application of the law") are also considered. The diversity of different countries' court system is directly reflected as the diversity of the appeals system. Hence this chapter discusses the principle of judicial hierarchy and points out that the key factor in establishment of the court system is the convergence between justice and efficiency. Therefore, the court of first instance shall decide the iss...