APPEAL, of the same signification in the law of Scot land, is generally employed to express the act of bring ing a decree of the court of session under the review of the house of lords.
It was once warmly disputed, whether the decrees of the session were, before the union of the two king doms, subject to the review of the parliament of Scot land. On the one hand, instances occur in the books of sederunt, soon after the institution of the college of justice, of parties protesting for remedy of law ; i. e. of their appealing from the sentences of the session to the king and parliament : on the other, the court of session disallowed this right of appealing ; because their sentences are declared to have the like force as those of the old court of session, 1537, c. 39 ; and that old court had a power of judging finally, without appeal to parlia ment, 1457, c. 62. \Vhcn, therefore, an appeal was offered to parliament, in 1674, against a decree of the session, the judges ordained the appellant's counsel to confess or deny, whether they had advised their client to that measure ? And upon their declining to answer, the court, after debarring those advocates from the ex rcise of their offices, applied to the privy council, who banished, not them only, but all the other advocates Nvho would not declare their abhorrence of such appeals, twelve miles from Edinburgh : and under this sentence many of the most eminent lawyers continued for several months, till the court, at the king's desire, restored them, upon their disclaiming the right of parties to appeal. The convention of estates, however, in 1689, c. 18, de clared, that the punishment of those advocates, without a trial, was a grievance ; and, by c. 13, they asserted it to be the right of every subject to appeal to parliament against the decrees of the session. See this argument, which is now rather curious than useful, discussed at large by Stair, book iv. tit. 1, and Dirleton, v. Session.
Appeals, since the union of the two kingdoms, in 1707, lie from the court of session to the house of lords. The
form of entering an appeal is by presenting a petition to the house of lords, praying for a warrant of service on the party in whose favour judgment was given in the court of session. By a rule of the house of lords, (24th Mar. 1725) this must be done within five years from the date of extracting the decree. The writ of appeal be ing served on the successful party, has the effect of staying execution of the sentence until the appeal be discussed by the house, or passed from by the appellant. Within eight days from the date of presenting the ap peal, the appellant, or some responsible person for him, must enter into a recognisance to the extent of 2001; otherwise the appeal falls. Thereafter, cases are pre pared for the appellant and respondent, and considered by the house, when the decision is either affirmed, re versed, altered, or remitted back, with special grounds for the consideration of the court of session. Should any further procedure be necessary, a petition may be presented to the latter court, requesting the judgment may he applied. (Ersk. Inst. book i. tit. 3. § 20, and book iv. tit. 3. § 2. Bell's Diet. of the Law of Scotland, v. Appeal.) Appeals also lie from the inferior courts in Scotland to the circuit court of the district, in such criminal causes as infer neither death nor demembration, and in civil causes, where the subject in dispute does not ex ceed 12/. sterling. (20 Geo. II. commonly called the jurisdiction act.) These appeals must be lodged with clerk of the in ferior court within ten days after pronouncing the de cree appealed from. But no appeal lies before a final decree has been pronounced by the inferior court. That part of the statute which relates to civil actions was only temporary, but is made perpetual by 31 Geo. II. c. ult. (Ersk. Inst. book i. tit. 3. § 28.) With regard to appeals to the court of session by way of ?dvocation, Reduction, and Suspension, see these separate articles.