Judicial authority of court officers in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Court of Appeal Civil Division

Lawyers in the Civil Appeals Office

The role of the Court of Appeal lawyer is to perform the Court’s judicial case management function. They exercise some judicial powers to ensure that cases in the Court of Appeal are managed in accordance with the overriding objective.

The judicial powers that the Court of Appeal lawyers may exercise are specified in written authority from the Master of the Rolls under CPR 52.24 as follows:

  1. Determining applications for permission to amend appellant’s notices prior to permission to appeal being granted;
  2. Giving directions in respect of respondent’s notices prior to their issue and, where uncontested, granting extensions of time for filing respondent’s notices when sought;
  3. Determining applications to amend respondent’s notices; and
  4. Granting extensions of time or abridging the time limits for the filing of bundles, skeleton arguments and respondent’s statements under para. 19 of Practice Direction 52C.

Masters in the Civil Appeals Office

The Masters are senior lawyers who manage the lawyer team in the Civil Appeals Office. They have more extensive judicial powers specified by the Master of the Rolls, as follows:

  1. Approval of consent orders allowing appeals or applications for permission to appeal and setting aside or varying the order of the lower court without determining the merits of the appeal (if the Master is satisfied that there are good and sufficient reasons for so doing – see PD52A, para 6.4) including determining costs on the basis of written submissions where the parties cannot agree;
  2. Approval of consent orders dismissing appeals or applications for permission to appeal by consent, including determining costs on the basis of written submissions where the parties cannot agree;
  3. Determination of applications for expedition of full appeals where permission to appeal has been granted by the court below but not where this entails removing other appeals that have already been listed;
  4. Determination of applications for extensions of time (not exceeding 42 days) for filing appellant’s notices in applications for permission to appeal and appeals where permission to appeal has been granted by the court below;
  5. Determination of applications for extensions of time or abridging the time limit for the filing of bundles, skeleton arguments, respondent’s statements or Appeal Questionnaires.
  6. Determination of applications for security for costs on the papers and applications pursuant to CPR 52.18(1)(c) seeking to impose conditions upon which an appeal may be brought;
  7. Determination of applications for permission to rely on a supplementary bundle of more than 350 pages under PD 52C paragraph 27(11) for both applications for permission to appeal and full appeals;
  8. Determination of applications to rely on supplementary skeleton arguments;
  9. Determination of applications for adjournments if lodged more than 21 days prior to the appeal hearing;
  10. Any matter ancillary to those listed in 1 – 9 above.