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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

Appeals - Appeals against pre-trial decisions - First appeals

219: First appeal courts

You could also call this:

"Which court you appeal to first depends on who made the original decision"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If you want to appeal a decision, you need to go to a specific court. The court you go to depends on who made the original decision. If a Community Magistrate or a Justice of the Peace made the decision, you appeal to the District Court.

If a District Court Judge made the decision, you appeal to the High Court, unless the decision was about a serious crime. You appeal to the High Court if the crime is not a category 3 or 4 offence, or if the defendant did not elect a jury trial. For other cases, you can appeal to either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.

If you elected a jury trial but then changed your mind, you are treated as if you never elected a jury trial. However, if you had already started the appeal process, the appeal will still be heard by the court that was originally going to hear it.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3360385.

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Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Criminal law
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Part 6Appeals
Appeals against pre-trial decisions: First appeals

219First appeal courts

  1. The first appeal court for an appeal under this subpart is—

  2. the District Court presided over by a District Court Judge, if the appeal is against a decision of the District Court presided over by 1 or more Community Magistrates or 1 or more Justices of the Peace; or
    1. the High Court, if the appeal is against a decision of the District Court presided over by a District Court Judge, other than a decision—
      1. made in proceedings for a category 3 offence after the defendant elected a jury trial; or
        1. made in proceedings for a category 4 offence; or
        2. either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court, in any other case.

          1. For the purposes of subsection (1), if a defendant elected a jury trial but subsequently withdrew his or her election before trial,—

          2. the defendant must be treated as if he or she had not elected a jury trial; but
            1. any appeal commenced before the date on which the defendant withdrew his or her election must be determined by the appeal court that had jurisdiction to determine the appeal at the time it was commenced.

              Notes
              • Section 219(1)(a): replaced, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
              • Section 219(1)(b): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
              • Section 219(2): inserted, on , by section 40 of the Courts Matters Act 2018 (2018 No 50).