Section 32: Appeal to House of Lords
94.This section provides a right of appeal to the House of Lords
95.An appeal can be made to the House of Lords from a decision of the High Court on an appeal brought under section 26 or 28 (subsection (1)). It can be made by either the person who has been arrested under the Part 1 warrant or the authority that issued the warrant (subsection (2)). But it can be made only with the leave of the High Court or the House of Lords (subsection (3)). Under subsection (4), leave may be granted only if:
the High Court has certified that there is a point of law of general importance; and
the court granting leave considers the point to be one which should be considered by the House of Lords.
96.An application for leave to the High Court must be made within 14 days of the date that the court makes its decision (subsection (5)); an application for leave to the House of Lords must be made within 14 days of a High Court decision to refuse leave (subsection (6)). An appeal to the House of Lords must be brought within 28 days of leave being granted (subsection (7)). If it is not, the appeal is deemed to have been dismissed immediately after the end of the period permitted under subsection (7) (subsection (8)), ignoring any powers of a court to extend the period for bringing the appeal or to grant leave to take a step out of time (subsection (9)). The High Court has the power to grant bail to a person appealing or seeking leave to appeal under this section (subsection (10)). Subsections (11) and (12) apply provisions of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 which concern the composition of the House of Lords for the hearing and determination of appeals.
97.Subsection (13) states that this section does not apply to Scotland. This is because the High Court of Justiciary (see section 216 below) is the final court of criminal appeal in Scotland and so the House of Lords has no jurisdiction in Scottish criminal matters.
