Order 13 — Criminal Appeals

This Order shall apply to appeals from the Court below in criminal cases and to matters related thereto.

Except where otherwise provided in these Rules, any application to the Court may be made by the Appellant or Respondent or by a Legal Practitioner on his behalf orally or in writing, but in regard to such applications, if the Appellant is unrepresented and in custody and is not entitled or has not obtained leave to be present before the Court, he shall make any such application by forwarding same in writing to the Registrar who shall take the appropriate steps to obtain the decision of the Court thereon.

(1) Appeals shall be brought by notice (hereinafter called “the Notice of Appeal”) to be filed in the Registry of the Court below which shall set forth the grounds of appeal and shall state clearly the part or parts of the decision being challenged and whether the appeal is against some decision of the Court below other than conviction or sentence.

(2) Where an application for leave to appeal has been made to and granted by the Court below, the Registrar of that court shall send to the Registrar of the Court, notification of the ruling on the application in the First Schedule to these Rules.

Any ground which is vague or general in terms or which discloses no reasonable ground of appeal shall not be permitted, save the general ground that the judgment is against the evidence, and a ground of appeal or any part thereof which is not permitted under this Rule may be struck out by the Court suo motu or on application by the Respondent.

(1) Every Notice of Appeal or notice of application for leave to appeal or application for extension of time within which such notice shall be given, shall be signed by the Appellant himself or by his Legal Practitioner except under the provisions of sub-rules 4 and 5 of this Rule.

(2) Any other notice required or authorised to be given shall be in writing and signed by the person giving the same or by his Legal Practitioner. All notices required or authorized to be given shall be addressed to the Registrar of the Court below to be forwarded by him to the Registrar:
Provided that, notwithstanding that the provisions of Rules 3 (1), (2), 4 and 5 (1) of this Order have not been strictly complied with, the Court may, in the interest of justice and for good and sufficient cause shown, entertain an appeal if satisfied that the intending Appellant has exhibited a clear intention to appeal to the Court against the decision of the Court below.

(3) Any notice or other document which is required or authorised to be given or sent shall be deemed to be duly given or sent if served in accordance with the provision of Order 3 Rule 2 of these Rules.

(4) Where an Appellant or any other person authorised or required to give or send any Notice of Appeal or notice of any application is unable to write, he may affix his mark thereto in the presence of a witness who shall attest the same and thereupon such notice shall be deemed to be duly signed by such Appellant.

(5) Where on the trial of a person entitled to appeal, it has been contended that he was not responsible according to law for his action(s) on the ground that he was insane at the time the act was done or the omission made by him or that at the time of the trial he was of unsound mind and consequently incapable of making his defence, any notice required to be given and signed by the Appellant himself may be given and signed by his Legal Practitioner.

(6) In the case of a body corporate, where any notice or other document is required to be signed by the Appellant, it shall be sufficient compliance therewith if such notice or other document is signed by the Company Secretary, Director, Manager or Legal Practitioner of such body corporate.

(1) The Record of Appeal in appeals or applications relating to appeals from the Court below acting in its appellate jurisdiction in criminal matters shall contain legible, typed or printed copies of the following items arranged in this order:
(a) the index which shall include the particulars of the record of proceedings from the Court below;
(b) the record of proceedings including the judgment and copies of exhibit tendered before the trial Court as submitted to the Court below;
(c) the Notice of Appeal and all other relevant documents filed in connection with the appeal in the Court below;
(d) the notes of the Judges on the hearing of the appeal and minutes of the proceedings;
(e) the judgment of the Court below;
(f) the Notice of Appeal to the Court or notice of application for leave to appeal to the Court or notice of application to the Court for extension of time in which such notice shall be given; and
(g) where leave to appeal has been granted by the Court below, a copy of the order granting leave to appeal.

(2) It shall not be necessary for the Record of Appeal to contain copies of any recognizances entered into for the purposes of the appeal in the Court below or of the appeal or application to the Court, unless the Court or a Justice of the Court shall otherwise direct.

(1) Where the Court admits an Appellant to bail pending the determination of his appeal on an application by him duly made, the Court shall, specify the amounts in which the Appellant and his surety or sureties (unless the Court directs that no surety is required) shall be bound by recognizance, and shall direct, if it deems fit so to do, before whom the recognizance of the Appellant and his surety or sureties (if any) may be taken.

(2) In the event of the Court not making any special order or giving any special directions under this Rule, the recognizances of the Appellant and of his surety or sureties (if any) may be taken before the Registrar.

(3) The recognizances provided for in these Rules shall be in the Forms prescribed in the First Schedule to these Rules.

(4) The Registrar of the Court below shall where the Court below admits the Appellant to bail, forward the recognizances of the Appellant and his surety or sureties to the Registrar.

(5) An Appellant who has been admitted to bail shall be personally present at each and every hearing of his appeal and at the final determination thereof, and the Court may, in the event of such Appellant not being present at any hearing of his appeal, if it deems right so to do, decline to consider the appeal, and may proceed summarily to dismiss the same and may issue a warrant for the apprehension of the Appellant in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule of these Rules:
Provided that the Court may consider the appeal in his absence, or make other order(s) as it deems fit.

(6) When an Appellant is present before the Court, the Court may, on an application made by him or any other person or, if it deems right so to do, without any application, make an order admitting the Appellant to bail, or revoke or vary any such order previously made, or vary from time to time the recognizances of the Appellant or of his sureties or substitute any other surety for a surety previously bound as it deems appropriate.

(7) At any time after an Appellant has been released on bail, the Court, or where the Appellant was released on bail by the Court below, that Court may, if satisfied that it is in the interest of justice so to do, revoke the order admitting him to bail, and issue a warrant in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule of these Rules.

(1) Where a person has, on his conviction, been sentenced to payment of a fine, in default of payment, to imprisonment, and such person remains in custody in default of payment of the fine, he shall be deemed, for purposes of appeal, to be a person sentenced to imprisonment.

(2) An Appellant who has been sentenced to the payment of a fine, and has paid the same or part thereof in accordance with such sentence, shall, in the event of his appeal being successful, be entitled, subject to any order of the Court, to the return of the sum or any part thereof so paid by him.

Where the Court below has dismissed an appeal and confirmed the order for conviction, or has made or confirmed an order for restitution of any property to any person, the person in whose favour or against whom the order of restitution has been made, and, with the leave of the Court, any other person, shall, on the final hearing by the Court of an appeal against his conviction on which such order of restitution was made, be entitled to be heard by the Court before any order annulling or varying such order of restitution is made.

Where the Court is of the opinion that the title to any property, the subject of an order of restitution made on a conviction of a person before it is not in dispute, the Court, if it shall be of the opinion that the title of such property or a certified true copy thereof is reasonably necessary to be produced for use at the hearing of any appeal, shall give such direction to or impose such terms upon the person in whose favour the order of restitution is made, as it deems appropriate in order to secure the production of such counterpart or certified true copy for use at the hearing of any such appeal.

The Registrar of the Court below or of the Court of trial or of any other Court shall not issue, under any law authorising him so to do, a certificate of conviction of any person convicted in the Court below if Notice of Appeal or Notice of Application for leave to appeal is given, until the determination or abandonment thereof.

(1) An Appellant may at any time before the appeal is called for hearing serve on the Respondent and file with the Registrar a notice to the effect that he does not intend further to prosecute the appeal.

(2) Upon receipt of a Notice of Withdrawal in accordance with this Rule, the Registrar shall give notice thereof in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule to the Respondent, the Correctional Services and the Registrar of the Court below, and in the case of an appeal against a conviction involving a sentence of death, shall in like manner give notice to the appropriate Federal or State authority responsible for the execution of the sentence of the Court below and exercise of the prerogative of mercy, and the Registrar shall also return to the Registrar of the Court below any original documents and exhibits received from him.

(3) An Appellant (other than one convicted of an offence involving sentence of death) who has withdrawn his appeal may, in special cases, with the leave of the Court, withdraw his notice of withdrawal. Upon such leave being granted, the Appellant shall be entitled to prosecute his appeal as if the notice of withdrawal was never filed.

(1) Where the Court has ordered any witness to attend and be examined before the Court, an order in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule hereto shall be served upon such witness specifying the time and place at which to attend for such purpose.

(2) Such order may be made on the application at any time by the Appellant or Respondent, but if the Appellant is in custody and not legally represented, the application shall be made by him in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule.

(3) Where the Court orders the examination of any witness to be conducted otherwise than before the Court itself, such order shall specify the persons appointed as examiner to take, and the place of taking, such examination and the witness or witnesses to be examined thereafter.

(4) The Registrar shall furnish to the person appointed to take such examination any documents or exhibits and any other material relating to the said appeal as and when requested to do so. Such documents and exhibits and other materials shall after examination has been concluded be returned by the examiner, together with any deposition taken by him under this Rule to the Registrar.

(5) When the examiner has appointed the day and time for the examination, he shall request the Registrar to give notice thereof to the Appellant and the Respondent and their Legal Practitioners, if any, and where the Appellant is in prison, to the Correctional Service. The Registrar shall cause to be served on every witness to be examined a notice in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule.

(6) Every witness examined before an examiner under this Rule shall give his evidence upon oath or affirmation to be administered by such examiner, except where any such witness, if giving evidence as a witness at a trial or information, needs not be sworn.

(7) The examination of every such witness shall be taken in the form of a deposition and unless otherwise ordered shall be taken in private. The caption in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule shall be attached to any such deposition.

(8) Where any witness shall receive an order or notice to attend before the Court or an examiner, the Registrar may, if it appears to him necessary so to do, pay to such witness a reasonable sum for his expenses.

(9) The Appellant and Respondent, or the Legal Practitioner representing them shall unless the Court otherwise directs, be entitled to be present at and take part in any examination of any witness to which this Rule relates.

When an order of reference is made by the Court to a Special Commissioner, the question to be referred, and the person to whom as Special Commissioner the same be referred, shall be specified in such order. The Court may in such order or by giving directions as and when from time to time it shall think appropriate, specify whether the Appellant or Respondent or any person on their behalf may be present at any examination or investigation or at any stage thereof as may be ordered, and specify any and what powers of the Court may be delegated to such Special Commissioner, and may require him from time to time to make interim reports to the Court upon the question referred to him, and may, if the Appellant is in custody, give leave to him to be present at any stage of such examination or investigation and give the necessary directions to the Correctional Services accordingly, and may give directions to the Registrar that copies of any report made by such Special Commissioner shall be furnished to the Appellant and Respondent.

(1) On the final determination of any appeal or of any application to the Court, the Registrar shall give to the Appellant, if he be in custody and has not been present at such final determination, and to the Respondent and the Correctional Services, notice of such determination in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule.

(2) In any case of an appeal in relation to a conviction involving sentence of death, the Registrar shall on receiving the Notice of Appeal, send copies thereof to the appropriate authority responsible for the exercise of the prerogative of mercy, to the Respondent and to the Correctional Services.

(1) The Registrar at the final determination of an appeal shall notify in such manner as he thinks most convenient to the Registrar of the Court below the decision in relation thereto, and also any orders or directions made or given by the Court in relation to such appeal or any matter connected therewith.

(2) The Registrar of the Court below shall on receiving the notification referred to in this Rule, enter the particulars thereof in the records of such Court.

Upon the final determination of an appeal for the purposes of which the Registrar has obtained from the Registrar of the Court below any original depositions, exhibits, information, inquisition, plea or other documents usually kept by the said Registrar, or forming part of the record of the Court below, the Registrar shall, where practicable, cause the same to be returned to the Registrar of the Court below.

(1) Subject to the provisions of Order 5 Rule 3(7) of these Rules, the fees set out in the Third Schedule shall be paid upon every appeal under this Order.

(2) The Court may waive in whole or in part the payment of any fees or the making of any deposit.

Any order given or made by the Court may be enforced by the Court or by the Court below as may be most expedient.

If it appears to the Registrar that any Notice of an Appeal against a conviction purporting to be on a ground of appeal which involves a question of law alone, does not show any substantial ground of appeal, the Registrar may refer the appeal to any Justice of the Court and such Justice may if he is of the same opinion, direct the Registrar to refer the appeal to the Court for summary determination, and, when the case is so referred, the Court may, if it considers that the appeal is frivolous or vexatious, and can be determined without adjourning same for a full hearing, dismiss the appeal summarily, without calling on any person to attend the hearing or to appear for the Government thereon.