Grounds of Appeal

A notice of appeal is the first court document that you can file in an appeal proceeding. The party who instituted the appeal proceeding is referred to as the appellant and the other party is referred to as the respondent. The notice of appeal must:

1. state that an appeal lies without leave or that leave has been granted and or annex the appropriate order to the notice of appeal; and
2. state whether the whole or part only and what part of the judgment is appealed from; and
3. state briefly but specifically the grounds relied upon in support of the appeal; and
4. state what judgment the appellant seeks in lieu of that appealed from;
5. be in accordance with form 8; and
6. be signed by the appellant or his lawyer; and
7. be filed in the registry.

Requirements for the grounds of the Appeal

The grounds of the appeal must meet the followings requirement as set out under Order 7 Rules 9 (c) and 10 of the Supreme Court Rules:

1. The grounds of appeal must be brief but specific. It must make grammatical and legal sense. It must also be intelligible.
2. If the appellant alleged that the primary learned judge erred in law, then the grounds of appeal must clearly show such error. Furthermore, it must clearly show the reasons why the judgment is wrong in law.
3. If the appellant alleges that the learned primary judge erred in law, then the grounds of appeal must clearly specify with particularity the ground he relies on to say the such an error of law was made. It is not sufficient for a ground of appeal to be drafted in those terms only.

The Supreme Court cases that explains further on these requirement are: Lama v NDB Investments Ltd [2015] PGSC 15; SC1423 (Cannings J, Collier & Geita JJ), Ipili Porgera investments Ltd v. Bank South Pacific Ltd (2007) SC1322 (Injia DCJ, Cannings J) and Haiveta v. Wingti & Ors (No. 2) [1994] PNGLR 189 (Amet CJ Kapi DCJ Los Salika Jalina JJ).

Reasons for the requirements

The Supreme Court in Haiveta v. Wingti & Ors (supra) sets out the two reasons why the grounds of appeal must meet the above requirements. These reasons are as follows:

1. The respondent, when reading the grounds of appeal, must be able to know the basis of the appeal so he can prepare his arguments.
2. The court, when reading the grounds of appeal, must be able to know the issues to be determined.

Failure to meet the requirements

The requirements are mandatory. If an appellant fails to comply with these requirements, the Court could find the appeal incompetent. See the judgement in Kou v Kaupa [2010] PGSC 18; SC1021 (David, Gabi & Kariko, JJ. If the appellant does not set out clearly the grounds of appeal in accordance with the requirements above, the Supreme Court has the discretion to strike out the grounds of appeal that offends the requirements. If, on the other hand, all the grounds of appeal offend these requirements, the Court can dismiss the entire appeal on the basis that the appeal is incompetent.

Examples of cases in Papua New Guinea

There are several cases in this jurisdiction that the Supreme Court struck out the grounds of appeal on the basis that these grounds do not meet the requirements.  These Haiveta v. Wingti & Ors (No. 2) [supra], Henao v Coyle (2000) SC655 and NCD Water and Sewerage Ltd v Tasion (2002) SC696.

In conclusion, the requirements are mandatory. Hence, an appellant must ensure that his grounds of appeal meet these requirements.