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inflow aspects
if he want latitude
Sep 26, 2014 17:57
9 yrs ago
30 viewers *
English term

appeal vs. letter of appeal

English Law/Patents Law (general) Court procedure in Finland
Hello,

I am translating an English text into Czech. The English text itself is a translation from Finnish (presumably done by a native speaker).

I can't figure out the meaning of the second piece of context where a distinction between "appeal" vs. "letter of appeal" seems to be of importance. I've already asked my English to Czech colleagues here on KudoZ and the general opinion has been to interpret "letter of appeal" as a reference to the written form of the appeal and "appeal" as the legal act of appealing itself. However, I still can't make any sense of sentence two below (especially of the part that reads "[accompanied] and the appeal itself":

Many thanks in advance for any hints and sorry if it's too obvious and I'm just being thick.

1)
The deadline for submitting an appeal is 30 days from the date on which the district court’s ruling was given. The appellant must submit his or her letter of appeal to the district court’s registry no later than on the last day of the deadline, during office hours."

and
2)
"The appellant must submit his or her letter of appeal, which must be addressed to the Supreme Court and be accompanied by an application for leave to appeal and the appeal itself, to the Court of Appeal’s registry no later than on the last day of the deadline."
Responses
4 -1 "letter of appeal" is comparable to a sort of "cover letter"
4 +2 Appellant's Notice of Appeal and Grounds for Appeal
5 Appeal vs Notice of Appeal
3 appeal vs letter of appeal
5 -3 document of appeal
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Yvonne Gallagher

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Discussion

Charlesp Oct 11, 2014:
what an interesting discussion! ;-)
Aleksandra Kleschina Oct 9, 2014:
@ Zdenek Glad we were of help here.
Yvonne Gallagher Oct 9, 2014:
I really wonder sometimes why I waste my time.
Zdeněk Hartmann (asker) Oct 9, 2014:
@Gallagy I did not say I had used "cover letter" or "full appeal". I went for "appeal in the form of a letter" along the lines of document or dossier containing the appeal itself and the leave for appeal. See my entry below. Of course, I might be wrong.
Yvonne Gallagher Oct 9, 2014:
Great. So, after all that you've picked a wrong answer; it's definitely NOT a "cover letter" nor is it the FULL appeal and I'm sure of that.
Charles Davis Sep 29, 2014:
@ Gallagy Yes, you have been referring to Supreme Court procedures in other countries, and you did suggest that the "accompanied by" part could be wrongly drafted (I must admit I didn't notice that; it's in the middle of a long answer with a lot of sections). So although I don't agree that "appeal" precisely means "grounds of appeal", I think you've come closest after all.

I still do think, though, that the thing to do here was to explore the Finnish system. The text is obscure and that is the best way to try to clarify it.
Zdeněk Hartmann (asker) Sep 29, 2014:
Thanks to everyone for a very lively discussion! The discussion sort of fills me with glee, as it seems to show that I was not being hopelessly thick when I was unable to understand the text. :-) Anyway, I had to send the text to the client this morning, so I cannot change it any more. In the end, I went for "appeal in the form of a letter" (as in something sent by post) and "comprising" instead of "accompanied by". I know this solution is far from ideal but I decided to stick to a fairly literal translation as I did not want to increase the confusion by reading additional meanings into the text. I think Charles Davis' explanation in the discussion, with Charlesp arguing along similar lines, convinced me to read "letter" as a synonym of "dossier" (a great English word) or "package" and drop the explicit "grounds" interpretation. Thank you everyone for your contributions, again.
Yvonne Gallagher Sep 29, 2014:
@ Charles (Davis)

I for one have based my entire answer on text 2) and dealt only with procedures in the Supreme Court and all my links are to do with this court as well.
I think "accompanied by" meaning "comprising" is a distinct possibility. Note that I suggested at 14 hrs that "and" could also mean this ..."accompanied by an application for leave to appeal *and=which includes* the grounds for appeal"
which would mean "appeal" is not a separate thing but the grounds included (as I've been saying from the start)...
Charles Davis Sep 28, 2014:
(3) In other words, when you file an ordinary appeal, as in (1), your “letter of appeal” simply consists of a statement of the nature and grounds of your appeal, which is often referred to in Finnish documents simply as the “appeal”. It can be accompanied by supporting documentation. But when you appeal to the Supreme Court, your “letter of appeal” needs to contain not only this statement, but also application for leave to appeal (with supporting arguments). So the “letter of appeal”, the document you submit to the court, contains two elements, “the application for leave and the appeal itself”. But when you appeal to the court of appeal, the “letter of appeal” contains only the statement of the nature and grounds of the appeal. So “appeal”, in text (2), means the nature and grounds of the appeal, the apellant’s case: the contents of a normal “letter of appeal”.

By the way, “letter of appeal”, the term official Finnish sources use in English, is simply a literal translation of “valituskirjelmä”. The word “kirjelmä” can mean letter, statement, communication, brief.
Charles Davis Sep 28, 2014:
(2) Bearing this in mind, the following page, from the English version of the official Finnish Judicial System website, may help to clear up the problem:

"Appeals
A decision of a court of appeal can be appealed against in the Supreme Court; it is, however, a prerequisite that the Supreme Court first grant leave to appeal. [...]
Leave to appeal must be applied for within 60 days of the decision of the court of appeal. Within that period, a letter of appeal, comprising the application for leave and the appeal itself, addressed to the Supreme Court, must be delivered to the registry of the court of appeal. Also the documents referred to in the letter of appeal must be attached to it."
http://vanha.oikeus.fi/17323.htm

Note that here it says “comprising”, not “accompanied by”. I believe that “accompanied by”, in source text (2), must be a mistake, and that “comprising” is what they mean.
Charles Davis Sep 28, 2014:
(1) The crux of the problem here is: what do they mean by "appeal" in text (2), given that it is something that "accompanies" the "letter of appeal"?

I think a point we've all been missing is that text (1) is about an appeal addressed to a court of appeal, against a district court ruling, but text (2) is about an appeal to the Supreme Court, against a ruling by a court of appeal.

An important difference between these two situations is that in Finland leave to appeal is required in (2) but not in (1). You do not need to apply for leave to appeal to a court of appeal against a district court ruling; you just file your appeal by submitting a letter of appeal. But you do need leave to appeal to the Supreme Court against an appeal court ruling.

“Decisions of a district court can be appealed to one of Finland's six courts of appeal. Decisions of a court of appeal can be appealed to the Supreme Court, provided that the Supreme Court grants leave to appeal.”
http://www.suomi.fi/suomifi/english/state_and_municipalities...
Aleksandra Kleschina Sep 28, 2014:
@Gallagy How can you possibly be insisting on your answer

"appeal = grounds for appeal" (these to be included in letter of application and notice and no doubt stated in all other documents pertaining to the appeal as well)?

Do you really believe they have "letter of appeal" stating the grounds, and then a whole other entirely separate document "appeal itself" restating the grounds once again (and doing nothing else)?!.. I don't see how that can be actually true.
Yvonne Gallagher Sep 28, 2014:
@ Charlesp
"letter of appeal" - as it is used here...is in this case, quite simply it is a statement that an appeal is being made."
And what is the "statement an appeal is being made" called in English? Oh yes...: Appellant's Notice of Appeal
Charlesp Sep 28, 2014:
To respond and answer the specific question of the post: "appeal" is stated here in the general sense (irrespective of any documents), and "letter of appeal" - as it is used here (even though I still hold that the use of the term "letter" is a misnomer) - is referring to written, i.e. physical, document(s), and in this case, quite simply it is a statement that an appeal is being made.
Charlesp Sep 28, 2014:
This is really weird. Anyway, I still say that it is a "Statement" and not a "Letter."
The Finnish legal system, though in some ways different than the Swedish, is substantially like the Swedish, particularly in general terms of procedure.
Yvonne Gallagher Sep 28, 2014:
...as for "Letter of Appeal"
Well. I think this is probably a bad translation from Finnish which is why I strongly suspect it is a Notice of Appeal since Letter of Application (for leave to appeal) is mentioned separately. "The appellant must submit his or her letter of appeal". Every jurisdiction I know requires a Notice of Appeal to be filed at the same time as a Letter of Application (both documents including grounds) for the Supreme Court. I certainly would prefer to leave it as "Appeal Letter/Letter of Appeal" than use "cover letter" or the vague "document". I doubt very much that the Finnish court procedure is very different to UK/US/NZ/Aus/Cdn all of which require a Notice and Letter (of Application) with grounds.
The main point I wanted to get across is that it is NOT the APPEAL CASE ITSELF
Yvonne Gallagher Sep 28, 2014:
@ Charles
I honestly fail to see why you are agreeing with a wrong answer "cover letter" and "appeal itself refers to the appeal in its entirety, i.e. with all the supporting documents, etc." only because Aleksandra gave a Finnish ref. (and she didn't manage to pick out the relevant "grounds for appeal" until prompted by my answer and you. I repeat this
I didn't give a Finnish ref because a) Aleksandra had already done so (but failed to pick outthe pertinent bit imo) and b) as I don't see the point of giving a translation when it is a translation causing difficulties here in the first place. It's an En>En question so I think En source refs. are appropriate. yes, there may be slight difference between appeal systems but ALL require grounds for appeal to be included when making an application for judicial review. So I stand by "appeal" =Grounds for appeal" (these to be included in letter of application and notice and no doubt stated in all other documents pertaining to the appeal as well))
Charles Davis Sep 28, 2014:
@Zdeněk I think that's a reasonable summary.

I have not often seen a question with so many disagrees and so few agrees: only one, in fact, which is my own. Let me say again, with no disrespect intended, that I have agreed with Aleksandra, even though her actual answer is not really accurate, because her research has given us the necessary materials to arrive at a correct answer, whereas all the other answers, which make no reference at all to Finnish procedures, seem to me essentially conjectural. In questions of this kind, research is really indispensable.
Zdeněk Hartmann (asker) Sep 28, 2014:
Thank you for your input, Charles, The text is a general description of how things work in Finland, presumably written in Finnish by a Finnish official and then translated into EN.
With your clarification regarding "statement of grounds", I think a sort of consensus is developing here (I interpret Fabio, Gallagy and now, with your clarification, Aleksandra as saying roughly the same, namely that one of the two "appeals" emphasizes the reasoning for the act of appealing itself, although, as you point out, things are far from clear.)
Charles Davis Sep 27, 2014:
Different systems If this concerns a case in Finland, which it presumably does (since you say that the document is a translation from Finnish), then we cannot make any prior assumptions based on how things work and what they are called in other countries. We need to know (a) what are the Finnish procedures on appeals, and (b) to what do these English terms correspond in Finland. This is why Aleksandra's contribution seems to me particularly valuable: she has quite rightly started by researching the Finnish system and terminology.

Not that everything is entirely clear, since the translated Finnish statute she refers to (Administrative Procedure Act) does not actually define the word "appeal" as it is being used here. But I think we can reasonably assume that submitting an appeal just means filing/lodging an appeal. That is, "appeal" means the act of appealing, the proceeding, and the documents that initiate it.

"Letter of appeal" is precisely defined in Aleksandra's other reference. It's not a "cover letter"; it's a statement of the grounds of appeal: a statement of the appellant's case.

Responses

-1
33 mins
Selected

"letter of appeal" is comparable to a sort of "cover letter"

I believe letter of appeal here is comparable to a sort of "cover letter"; whereas appeal itself refers to the appeal in its entirety, i.e. with all the supporting documents, etc.

This is a description of a letter of appeal that pertains to Finland : http://www.oikeus.fi/en/index/esitteet/oikeudenkayntihallint... .

And here ( www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2003/en20030434.pdf ) is the "Administrative Procedure Act" of Finland. Section 47 "Appeals instructions", Paragraph 2 reads:

The appeal instructions shall indicate the required contents and annexes of the letter of appeal and how it is to be delivered.

So it is thus clear from these two links, I think, that a letter of appeal gives the nature and details of the appeal, but that there are other documents in addition to the letter, which together constitute the appeal itself.


By the way, an "application for leave to appeal" is :

A document requesting the appellate court to hear a party’s appeal from a judgment when the party has no appeal of right or the time limit for an appeal of right has expired. An "application for leave to appeal" must be made if one wishes to have the court consider one’s appeal where there is no appeal of right. The Court has final discretion to accept or reject an application. (from http://www.d12.com/county_courts/d12/glossary.asp )
Note from asker:
Many thanks Aleksandra!
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : Your Finnish reference is crucial here. Both "appeal" and "letter of appeal" are documents; they are submitted. "Appeal" evidently means the application. "Letter of appeal" means the statement of grounds of appeal.
12 hrs
Thank you, took some digging! :)
disagree Yvonne Gallagher : Sorry but I can't agree with "cover letter" or with "appeal itself refers to the appeal in its entirety" . It can't be the full appeal case at application for leave stage.
13 hrs
So we are disagreeing then...
neutral AllegroTrans : I cannot agree with "cover letter"
1 day 5 hrs
I said "sort of". :) By that I meant a statement of the gist of the case and grounds for appeal. The reference describes what exactly goes into it. Then the "appeal itself" is the full package, with briefs, transcripts, supporting documents.
disagree Charlesp : not really - why? Because it is not a cover letter (without explaining here what a cover letter is).
1 day 15 hrs
Again, "cover letter" wasn't exactly the best explanation, but what I meant was a consice statement of case facts and of grounds for appeal - the full details to be found in other documents together constituting the "appeal".
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Unfortunately, ProZ does not allow splitting points. As I said in the discussion, it's very difficult to determine which of the answers provided was actually the single most helpful one, since it was the discussion between holders of different views that helped me most. So once again, thank you everyone, for your zeal, time and effort"
28 mins

appeal vs letter of appeal

"Appeal" is a legal proceeding by which a case is brought before a higher court for review of the decision of a lower court.

While a "letter of appea"l is a letter giving reasons why someone should consider a decision again because you think the original decision was wrong.

Have a look at the link below, I found it helpful in understanding the system.
Example sentence:

The Court of Appeal justices will not change the decision under appeal just because it seems unfair

He helped me write a letter of appeal against my dismissal.

Reference:

http://www.courtofappealbc.ca/criminal-matters?ct=t%28primary-menu%29

Note from asker:
Thank you, Fabio! Here the letter of appeal is in fact addressed to the court, I think (unless I've totally misread the text).
Peer comment(s):
agree Charlesp : Yes, that is a decent - and correct - explanation.
1 day 15 hrs
disagree Aleksandra Kleschina : Sorry, but it doesn't explain what "appeal itself" is in the question.
2 days 3 hrs
Something went wrong...
-3
1 day 16 hrs

document of appeal

The use of the term "letter" here seems to confuse many.

it is not a "letter" in the sense of being an e.g. letter that one might write to a friend, or to the editor of a newspaper. It is more in the sense of an envelope, i.e. something that is sent in or submitted, usually in an envelope.

"Document of Appeal" (with or without caps) would be more accurate.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day16 hrs (2014-09-28 10:41:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The document of appeal sent by the College to the NCAA regarding use of the Tribe athletic logo: https://web.wm.edu/news/archive/?admin=main&id=5975


Or "Statement of Appeal"

(see generally http://www.proz.com/kudoz/italian_to_english/law_general/938...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days13 hrs (2014-09-29 07:52:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In other words, the appeal (i.e. the statement that an appeal is being made) could take any one of a number of forms, but that it is a document (i.e. that it is in written form) and could be but does not necessarily have to be in the form of a "letter"

As someone pointed out above, the Finnish word kirjelmä could mean any number of things in English - all of which though are a written document.
Note from asker:
Thank you, Charles.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Yvonne Gallagher : no, this is not what it's called. Far too vague and document could mean anything it's so ambiguous.
15 mins
disagree Aleksandra Kleschina : Sorry, can't agree...
9 hrs
disagree AllegroTrans : too vague
11 hrs
Something went wrong...
+2
4 hrs

Appellant's Notice of Appeal and Grounds for Appeal

Sorry, I looked at this quickly earlier and thought it was more simple.

What I believe this is Letter of Appeal =Appellant's Notice of Appeal
as Letter of Application (seeking leave to appeal)

and the "Appeal" is the GROUNDS or REASON(S) on point of law (or perhaps in the public interest) WHY an appeal or judicial review is being filed


See the various steps here in the UK Supreme Court link. Permission to appeal will not be granted unless substantial grounds (reasons) are given and this would b e true for every Supreme Court in every country

http://www.supremecourt.uk/procedures/practice-direction-03....


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2014-09-26 22:26:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

here is US
http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/UnderstandingtheFedera...

A litigant who loses in a federal court of appeals, or in the highest court of a state, may file a petition for a "writ of certiorari," which is a document asking the Supreme Court to review the case. The Supreme Court, however, does not have to grant review. The Court typically will agree to hear a case only when it involves an unusually important legal principle, or when two or more federal appellate courts have interpreted a law differently. There are also a small number of special circumstances in which the Supreme Court is required by law to hear an appeal. .

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2014-09-26 22:29:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or from a Criminal Appeal (UK) doc

Point of Law to be certified
(see note 4)


Please identify the point of law of general public importance that you want the Court to certify:

Grounds of Application
(r.74.2)
(see note 4)

Please set out your reasons why the point of law ought to be considered by the Supreme Court and why this court ought to grant permission to appeal:















--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2014-09-26 22:33:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://foi.gov.ie/Appeals-to-the-High-Court-and-Supreme-Cour...
"...1. All appeals to the Supreme Court shall be by way of rehearing and (save from the refusal of an ex parte application) shall be brought by notice of motion (in this Order called "the notice of appeal"). The appellant may appeal from the whole or any part of any judgement or order and the notice of appeal shall state whether the whole or part only of such judgement or order is complained of and, in the latter case, shall specify such part.
2. In any cause or matter where there has been a trial thereof, or of any issue therein, with a jury every notice of appeal therein shall include an application for a new trial and such other relief as may be sought, e.g. to set aside the verdict and finding of a jury or to enter judgement for the appellant."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2014-09-26 22:45:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/appeal

SO after all that, NO, I don't agree that the "appeal" mentioned is the case itself as that makes no sense when it is just the application for leave to appeal stage...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 hrs (2014-09-27 08:15:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I said "AND" not "VS" in my heading and believe your text should not read

..."accompanied by an application for leave to appeal and the appeal itself"

BUT

..."accompanied by an application for leave to appeal which includes the grounds for appeal"

I restate here that it CAN'T BE the "APPEAL ITSELF" at application stage.

I am NOT (nor are my links) saying that the "grounds" are separate. The grounds for appeal MUST be included in the letter of application, otherwise the application will have no chance of success. These grounds (of appeal) on points of law/public interest that the appeal is being asked to review must also be stated on the Appelant's Notice of Appeal.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs (2014-09-27 10:34:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

No, I did not mean that "Appeal Letter "=Appellant's Notice. I should have put Letter of Application (for leave to appeal) in header but both documents, as I've said, have to include the grounds for appeal.
I didn't give a Finnish ref because a) Aleksandra had already done so (but failed to pick outthe pertinent bit imo) and b) as I don't see the point of giving a translation when it is a translation causing difficulties here in the first place. It's an En>En question so I think En source refs. are appropriate. yes, there may be slight difference between appeal systems but ALL require grounds for appeal to be included when making an application for judicial review. So I stand by "appeal" =Grounds for appeal" (these to be included in letter of application and notice and no doubt stated in all other documents pertaining to the appleal as well))

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs (2014-09-27 10:37:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

sorry for any repetition above...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days15 hrs (2014-09-29 09:52:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Then, IF the leave (to appeal) is granted, the Applicant files a Notice to Proceed and the Letter of Application (including the grounds) letter is then resealed and sent to Respondents and any Interveners along with a Certificate of Service (in UK Supreme Court Appeals).
Note from asker:
Many thanks Gallagy!
Peer comment(s):
disagree Aleksandra Kleschina : I believe you are mistaken here. The first link in my answer is a definition of a "letter of appeal" in Finland - and it includes grounds for appeal! So your version that "letter" = notice and "appeal" = grounds appears incorrect (in the case of Finland).
7 hrs
you're misreading my answer. I'm not saying these are separate things, "grounds..." must be included in both letters ...//So a tit-for-tat disagree! Fact is that your answer is wrong:it's not "appeal itself in its entirety"
agree Charles Davis : After all the arguments and research, I think this is close to the right answer.
8 hrs
Many thanks Charles. I follow your point about Finnish research and did look but translated material is not always reliable, which is why I ended up focusing on Eng.- lang systems.
agree AllegroTrans
2 days 22 hrs
Many thanks:-)
agree Charlesp
14 days
Something went wrong...
10 days

Appeal vs Notice of Appeal

Letter of Appeal is similar to "Notice of Appeal" .
you can have the same meaning as: "to lodge an appeal" and "to give notice of appeal".

And yes, appeal itself is a legal act.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Aleksandra Kleschina : I don't think your answer is helpful at all in this case.
2 days 6 hrs
agree Charlesp
4 days
thanks!
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