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Note: To search for hearing details for a specific case, visit the hearing list page.

Appeal against a decision by the Youth Courts

For cases in the Youth Courts, parties may appeal against a court decision if they are not satisfied with it.

Note

Who can appeal

The following persons can appeal against a decision of a Youth Court:

The child or young person.
The parent or guardian of the child or young person.
(For child protection) The Director-General of Social Welfare or a child protection officer from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).
(For criminal cases: youth arrest, summons and notice cases) The public prosecutor.

What you can appeal against

You may file an appeal against a decision relating to a judgment, sentence or order made by a Youth Courts judge if you are not satisfied with it and wish to reverse or vary it.

Key facts

Refer to the following on how to appeal a Youth Courts decision.

Who can file	Refer to this list for the persons who can appeal.
What can be appealed against	A decision relating to a judgment, sentence or order by a Youth Courts judge.
When to file	Within 14 days of the judgment, sentence or order.
Estimated fees	$50 to file the Notice of Appeal
Where the appeal will be heard	The Family Division of the High Court.

Note

The party who files the appeal is the appellant. The other party is the respondent.

How to file

You may choose to file personally or through a lawyer. If you are represented by a lawyer, the application will be filed by your lawyer.

If you are not represented by a lawyer, follow these steps to file an appeal.

Step	Result
1. File the Notice of Appeal	Your application is filed in the court's system.
2. Review the record of proceedings and grounds of decision	You read the record of proceedings and grounds of decision, and decide if you want to continue with the appeal.
3. File the Petition of Appeal	Your petition is filed to proceed with the appeal.

When: within 14 days of the court decision

Within 14 days of the court's decision, file the Notice of Appeal at the Youth Courts Registry (Family Justice Courts at Havelock Square) during the operating hours. Find out the location and operating hours of the Youth Courts Registry.

You will receive the record of proceedings and grounds of decision from the court via courier service.

The record of proceedings comprise of the certified transcripts of the hearing.
The grounds of decision are the reasons for the court’s decision.

Tip

When: within 14 days of the date of the service of the record of proceedings and grounds of decision

In order to proceed with the appeal, you need to file the Petition of Appeal at the Youth Courts Registry during the operating hours. You need to file within 14 days from the date of service of the record of proceedings and grounds of decision.

There are no fees to file the Petition of Appeal.

After you file

The documents related to your case will be sent to the Family Division of the High Court, which will hear your appeal.

The court will arrange for a hearing and inform you and the respondent of the location, date and time through a Registrar's Notice. Both you and the respondent must attend the hearing. Further directions will be given in the Registrar's Notice.

Tip: If you are unable to attend, you must write to the court immediately to request a later hearing date and state the reasons for your request.

At your appeal hearing

The court will decide whether to allow or dismiss your appeal.

This is the general process during an appeal hearing:

The court will ask you (the appellant) to present your arguments for appeal.
The court will hear from the respondent, who may respond to your arguments and present their case.
The court may then ask you to reply to the respondent.

The court may issue a decision on the day of the hearing or choose to reserve judgment. If the court chooses to reserve judgment, you will receive further directions on what happens next.

Outcomes of the appeal

There are 2 possible outcomes:

If your appeal is allowed	You get some or all of the changes you asked for, either in full or in part. The court may vary or overrule the original court’s decision, or make a new order.
If your appeal is dismissed	There are no changes to the original court's decision.

After the appeal ends

Either party may extract the orders made by the court.

Need help?

The information here is for general guidance as the courts do not provide legal advice. If you need further help, you may want to get independent legal advice.

Find out more

Resources

Legislation associated with this topic includes:

Refer to Paragraph 31 of the Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015.