At the appeal stage, may a party assert that the first-instance court's jurisdiction was violated, and what kind of jurisdiction falls outside that bar?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In the practice file we read the appeal brief, where any jurisdictional assertion would appear, the first-instance judgment showing which court heard the case, and the papers indicating what category of case it is, since the exception turns on exclusive jurisdiction.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading bars the assertion outright: at the appeal stage a party may not assert a violation of the first-instance court's jurisdiction, whatever the file shows about when or whether the point was raised below; only exclusive jurisdiction takes a case out of that bar.
Another reading notes that the provision forbids only the party's assertion at the appeal stage; it does not say who decides a case where jurisdiction was lacking, whether the appellate court may raise the point on its own motion, or what follows if a party makes the barred assertion anyway.
Your judgment
Where the exception is said to apply, what in the first-instance papers would show that the jurisdiction concerned was exclusive?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to widen or narrow the exception, or if a court decision decides whether an appellate court may raise first-instance lack of jurisdiction on its own motion.