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The House of Lords entertains appeals in criminal cases from appellate courts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland. In this feature, Mark Summers of Matrix surveys the criminal jurisdiction of the House of Lords and the statistics for cases determined over the past 6 years.


Separate rules and procedures govern the conduct of criminal cases before the House of Lords.   In criminal cases, the right of appeal to the House of Lords is regulated by statute and subject to statutory restrictions. The principal statutes for criminal appeals are:

  • the Administration of Justice Act 1960,
  • the Criminal Appeal Act 1968,
  • the Courts-Martial (Appeals) Act 1968,
  • the Administration of Justice Act 1969,
  • the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978,
  • the Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) Act 1980,
  • the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002,
  • the Extradition Act 2003;
  • the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and
  • the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.
Despite the diverse routes to the House of Lords in criminal cases, they occupy a surprisingly small proportion – approximately 15% – of the judicial case load of the House of Lords. Between 2003 and mid-2009;
  • of the total 421 petitions that were granted leave to appeal, 66 were criminal.
  • of the total 952 petitions that were refused leave to appeal, 128 were criminal, and
  • of the total 30 petitions that were withdrawn, 8 were criminal.
No appeal lies to the House of Lords from the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland. Save in criminal contempt of court cases (where appeal only lies at the instance of the defendant), appeals lie to the House of Lords, at the instance of the defendant or the prosecutor:
  • from any decision of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division in England and Wales on an appeal to that court,
  • from any decision of the Courts-Martial Appeal Court
    on an appeal to that court,
  • from any decision of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales in a criminal cause or matter (or, in one quirk of the Extradition Act 2003, direct from a decision of a Magistrate);
    from any decision of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland in a criminal cause or matter on a case stated, or on an appeal to that court by a person convicted on indictment, or
    from any decision of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland in a criminal cause or matter

In all cases, leave to appeal (which may be granted by the court below or the House itself) is required. Leave may be granted by the court below or, if refused, by the House of Lords. An Petition for Leave to Appeal to the House of Lords for leave to appeal must be made within 28 days beginning with the date on which the application for leave was refused by the court below (or 14 days in case sunder the Extradition Act 2003 or Proceeds of Crime Act 2002).  Save in extradition cases, that time limit is extendable on application made at any time by the defendant and, in certain limited circumstances, the prosecutor.

In a criminal cause or matter, a prerequisite to the grant of leave to appeal is the certification by the court below that a point of law of general public importance is involved in the decision of that court. The only exceptions to that rule are;

  • appeals from a decision of the High Court in England and Wales or in Northern Ireland on a criminal application for habeas corpus,
  • a Crown appeal under s 5(4) of the Human Rights Act 1998, or
  • in contempt of court cases where the decision of the court below was not a decision on appeal.

Of the criminal cases determined by the House of Lords between 2003 and mid-2009:

  • 5% involved expanded, 7 or 9-member, constitutions of the House,
  • 11% were extradition cases,
  • 11% arose from confiscation proceedings,
  • 19% resulted in the delivery of dissenting opinions (including partly dissenting opinions) by Law Lords, and
  • 46% resulted in the judgment of the court below being overturned (or partially overturned). 
     
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