PRACTICE REMINDERS FOR LAWYERS ( NO.2)- COURT OF APPEAL | RECORDS, LEGIBILITY & RECTIFICATION

What Every Lawyer Must Know About Appeal Records | Settlement · Legibility · Rectification COURT OF APPEAL PRACTICE REMINDER FOR LAWYERS SETTLEMENT OF RECORDS, LEGIBILITY OF APPEAL RECORDS AND RECTIFICATION BEFORE THE COURT OF APPEAL 1. Introduction In Court of Appeal practice, the record of appeal is the foundation of the appeal. The Court of Appeal ordinarily determines the appeal on the basis of the record transmitted from the court below. The appellate court does not usually hear the witnesses afresh. It reviews the pleadings, proceedings, exhibits, rulings, judgment, applications and other processes contained in the record. For that reason, a defective record is not a small administrative inconvenience. It may become a serious obstacle to the proper determination of the appeal. A lawyer appearing before the Court of Appeal must therefore treat the record of appeal as the principal working document of the appeal. ________________________________________ 2. Why the Record of Appeal Matters The record of appeal enables the Court of Appeal to: 1. identify the pleadings and issues before the trial court; 2. understand the evidence led by the parties; 3. examine the exhibits tendered at the trial; 4. review the rulings and orders made in the course of the proceedings; 5. evaluate the judgment appealed against; 6. determine whether the grounds of appeal are supported by the record; and 7. decide whether the appellant has made out a proper case for appellate intervention. Where the record is incomplete, faint, illegible, incoherent, wrongly paginated or disorganised, the appellate process becomes unnecessarily difficult. ________________________________________ 3. The Role of Lawyers at Settlement of Records Settlement of records must not be treated as a mere formality. It is an important procedural stage at which counsel must actively assist in ensuring that the correct materials are included in the record of appeal. At settlement of records, counsel must ensure that the following are properly identified and included where relevant: 1. the writ or originating process; 2. pleadings and amendments; 3. interlocutory applications; 4. affidavits and exhibits; 5. rulings and orders; 6. proceedings and notes of evidence; 7. documentary exhibits; 8. the judgment appealed against; 9. the notice of appeal; 10. relevant correspondence or procedural notices; 11. any other document necessary for the proper determination of the appeal. Counsel must not leave the entire process to the registry. The registry has administrative responsibilities, but counsel has a professional responsibility to ensure that the record required for the appeal is complete, accurate and usable. _