Guide
I lost,
and I want to appeal
A decision is not always the end. Most decisions can be taken to a higher court, but only within a set time and only on grounds the higher court will listen to. This page is about what an appeal is and is not.
Where this applies This page covers courts in Pakistan. A decision from a court in the country you live in is appealed there.
What this is about
An appeal is not a second trial. The higher court reads what the lower court did and asks whether it went wrong in law or in reading the evidence. New evidence is rarely allowed. So the appeal is won or lost on the record that already exists.
Time is the first question. The period for filing runs from the decision, and a person abroad often hears of the decision late. An advocate who was at the hearing hears of it on the day.
What has to be in place
What has to be clear.
The decision, in full, with the date.
Which court decided, because that decides where the appeal goes.
What went wrong, in the advocate’s reading.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
What an advocate asks for.
- The certified copy of the judgment and decree.
- The complete file of the case below.
- Your power of attorney for the appeal.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Tells you honestly whether there are grounds, before you spend anything.
- Files in time, with the certified copies the higher court requires.
- Asks for the decision below to be suspended while the appeal runs, where that matters.
What to ask before you agree
- Are there grounds, in your honest reading, and what are they?
- Am I in time, and which certified copies are needed?
- Can the decision below be suspended while the appeal runs?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Court cases and settlements
Is there an office in Pakistan that helps people like me?Court cases and settlementsI have a civil case, or someone has filed one against meCourt cases and settlements
We would rather settle than fightCourt cases and settlements
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- appeal
- Asking a higher court to review a decision.
- revision
- A narrower review, on limited grounds.
- certified copy
- The official copy of a judgment needed to appeal.
- decree
- The formal record of what the court decided.
Written
11 September 2026
Pakistan.