The Appeals Process as a Means of Error Correction

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The Appeals Process as a Means of Error Correction

Author Info

Shavell, Steven

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Steven Shavell

Abstract

The appeals process - whereby a litigant disappointed with the decision of a first-order tribunal can seek reconsideration before a higher tribunal - is a widely observed feature of adjudication. What rationale can be offered for incorporation of an appeals process in a system of adjudication? The justification analyzed here concerns error correction: the appeals process allows society to harness information that litigants have about erroneous decisions and thereby to reduce the incidence of mistake at low cost (because the appeals tribunal convenes only in a subset of cases). This argument explains why the appeals process may be superior to the alternative of enhancing the quality of the trial process. The argument also explains why disappointed litigants are given the right to instigate appeals (instead of the higher tribunal having the right to reconsider trial outcomes). The article also discusses other justifications for the appeals process, including lawmaking. Copyright 1995 by the University of Chicago.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by University of Chicago Press in its journal Journal of Legal Studies.

Volume (Year): 24 (1995)
Issue (Month): 2 (June)
Pages: 379-426
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Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:24:y:1995:i:2:p:379-426

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Steven Shavell, 2004. "The Appeals Process and Adjudicator Incentives," NBER Working Papers 10754, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Luca Anderlini & Leonardo Felli & Alessandro Riboni, 2008. "Statute Law or Case Law?," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
Other versions:
- Luca Anderlini & Leonardo Felli & Alessandro Riboni, 2008. "Statute Law or Case Law?," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 83, Collegio Carlo Alberto. [Downloadable!]
- Anderlini, Luca & Felli, Leonardo & Riboni, Alessandro, 2008. "Statute Law or Case Law?," CEPR Discussion Papers 6912, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Michael Faure, 2001. "A Selection of Empirical Socio-Economic Research with Respect to the Functioning of Legal Rules and Institutions in Belgium and the Netherlands," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 207-248, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Moshe Bar Niv & Zvi Safra, 2006. "On the Desirability of Appellate Courts," Review of Law & Economics, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 2(3). [Downloadable!]
Levy, Gilat, 2003. "Careerist Judges," CEPR Discussion Papers 3948, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Kamphorst, Jurjen J.A. & Van Velthoven, Ben C.J., 2006. "The introduction of an appeals court in Dutch tax litigation," MPRA Paper 2008, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 27 Apr 2006. [Downloadable!]
Other versions:
- Kamphorst, Jurjen J.A. & van Velthoven, Ben C.J., 2009. "The introduction of an appeals court in Dutch tax litigation," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 13-24, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)

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