On the history of development of an appeal

This article describes the origin and the history of development of the institute of appeal since the times of the Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages in the countries of Western Europe, as well as the process of development of the appeal as a complex criminal procedure institute in the Russian court procedure. It is revealed that the right to appeal was mentioned in the text of Novgorod Court Chart, and later in the Law Book of 1497 in the forms of "gossip" and "report" but they hardly resembled the current comprehension of the appeal. Three stages of development of the institute of appeal are distinguished. The first stage was connected with the issue of the Decree of July 23, 1672 which established the right to appeal court judgments at the legislative level. The second one was connected with the adoption of the Establishment for Governance of Provinces of 1775. The third one was connected with the reform of 1864 which resulted in the formation of appeal in its systematic form. The author states the reasons, connected with democratic reforms in Russia, which encouraged legislators to revive the institute of appeal in the Russian criminal process. The author underlines the importance of the institute of appeal for criminal cases as a guarantor of adherence of court procedure principles.