The Appellate Conundrum – Is Every Decision Appealable?

A claim in court generally involves two parties from opposite ends attempting to stake a claim in the dispute between them. To this end, we all know that there will always be a party that drew the shorter end of the stick i.e. they did not succeed in their claim. This is where the appeal process kicks in, whereby the losing party will appeal their case to a higher court in the hope that the higher court would have a different view and ultimately give a different outcome to the case. 

However, can you actually appeal every decision that is meted out by the court? This issue was discussed in the case of  Asia Pacific Higher Learning Sdn Bhd v Majlis Perubatan Malaysia & Anor.

Brief facts of the case

Asia Pacific Higher Learning Sdn Bhd is the owner and operator of Lincoln University College. They filed a claim for damages against Majlis Perubatan Malaysia, the Minister of Health, and the Government of Malaysia for canceling the medical degree programs at Lincoln University College.

It must be noted that there were multiple lawsuits tied to the above lawsuit. 3 years after the above suit was initiated by Asia Pacific and based on the outcome of the other suits, Asia Pacific applied to amend their claim (in terms of the amount of damages) in the above suit to reflect the outcome and decision of the other lawsuits.

The High Court allowed the amendment application and ordered both parties to proceed on the main suit based on the amended application. Not satisfied with the outcome, Majlis Perubatan Malaysia, the Minister of Health and the Government of Malaysia appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal then overturned the decision of the High Court. On appeal to the Federal Court by Asia Pacific, the Federal Court upholds the decision of the High Court. 

The parties’ contention

Asia Pacific contended that the decision in regards to the amendment application is not appealable. Majlis Perubatan Malaysia contented otherwise. The Federal Court agreed with Asia Pacific, stating that this instance is one of the many instances where a decision that is meted out is not appealable by any parties to the proceeding.

The court’s judgment
The court pointed out two instances where a decision is not appealable namely: 

A. When it is expressly stated in a legislation

For example, Section 68 of the Courts of Judicature Act list down decisions which are not appealable. There are:

1. When the amount of claim in the case does not exceed RM250,000.00, unless the Court of Appeal allows the matter to be appealed to the Federal Court;
2. Where a judgment/ order is made with the consent of all parties involved;
3. Where the judgment/ order solely relates to cost, unless the Court of Appeal allows the matter to be appealed to the Federal Court; 
4. When a written law expressly states that the judgment/ order is final; and
5. Where the decision is a decision of a Judge in Chambers in a summary way on an interpleader summons and the facts are not disputed by both parties, unless the Court of Appeal allows the matter to be appealed to the Federal Court.

B. When the decision does not dispose of the rights of the parties

What does it mean? The court has this to say:

1. Does the decision put an end to the parties claim/ dispute? 
2. Are the rights of the parties affected by the decision? 

If both are in the negative, then the decision is not appealable to higher courts. 

Based on the above pointers, assuming that the application for amendment is allowed and the matter is remitted to the High Court, the Federal Court noted that: 

1. If Majlis Perubatan Malaysia, the Minister of Health and the Government of Malaysia does not succeed to defend their case in the High Court, they could still appeal their case to the Court of Appeal and even the Federal Court; and
2. Asia Pacific would still need to convince the court that they are entitled to the damages they claimed in their suit. 

In conclusion, you can appeal every decision that is meted out by the court, provided that those decisions do not fall under the two instances mentioned above.

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