Cassation

If you have been convicted by the Court of Appeal and you disagree with that decision, you can lodge an appeal in cassation with the Supreme Court, the highest court in criminal cases. That is the last opportunity to have a court look at your case. How the procedure before the Supreme Court runs is set out under Supreme Court (cassation). This page is about the question that comes before it: is an appeal in cassation worthwhile in your case, and what can we do for you?

A field of its own

The cassation procedure differs fundamentally from the procedure before the district court and the Court of Appeal. Those courts establish the facts; the Supreme Court does not assess the facts again. It takes the facts as the trial court established them and examines only whether the law was correctly applied, whether the rules of procedure were followed and whether the decision was sufficiently reasoned.

That calls for a different kind of work. Where a hearing turns on questioning witnesses and weighing evidence, the cassation procedure turns on the precise wording of a judgment and on the question of which complaint about it stands a chance of success. That requires a specialist and expert lawyer. Dino Bektesevic and Tobias Wouters have extensive experience of litigating before the Supreme Court.

An honest assessment first

Not every case lends itself to an appeal in cassation. We therefore first examine thoroughly whether there are complaints with substance, and discuss our findings with you. If we conclude that an appeal in cassation has no realistic prospect of success, we tell you so clearly and in good time.

Where there are grounds to work with, we explain what they are and what the Supreme Court might do with them. An appeal in cassation sometimes leads to the judgment being quashed and the case being reheard by the Court of Appeal. Sometimes the Supreme Court disposes of the case itself, for instance by reducing the sentence where the reasonable time requirement has been exceeded.

What such complaints are about varies widely. It may be that the Court of Appeal left an expressly substantiated argument unaddressed, that the finding of guilt does not follow from the evidence relied on, that a defence about the lawfulness of the evidence was insufficiently answered, or that the reasoning for the sentence imposed is incomprehensible. Which complaint stands a chance in your case only emerges from a careful reading of the judgment alongside the record of the hearing and the documents that were put before the Court of Appeal.

We take the time for that. A statement of grounds for cassation is not a summary of your case but a precisely formulated legal complaint about what the Court of Appeal did, or indeed failed to do.

Also where we did not represent you before

If we represented you before the Court of Appeal and you wish to go to cassation, we are glad to carry that through. But you can also come to us where another lawyer handled your case before the Court of Appeal. A fresh look at a case file regularly brings to light complaints in cassation that had not been noticed before.

Do keep the time limit in mind: in most cases an appeal in cassation must be lodged within fourteen days of the judgment. So do contact us in good time.

Considering an appeal in cassation? Get in touch

The cassation procedure is legally complicated. Careful and expert representation is therefore essential. We analyse your case thoroughly and give realistic advice on the prospects. Do feel free to contact us; we will set out your options.