An
appellate court, commonly called an
appeals court,
court of appeals (
American English),
appeal court (
British English),
court of second instance or
second instance court, is any
court of law that is empowered to hear an
appeal of a
trial court or other lower
tribunal. In most
jurisdictions, the court system is divided into at least three levels: the trial court, which initially hears cases and reviews evidence and testimony to determine the facts of the case; at least one intermediate appellate court; and a
supreme court (or court of last resort) which primarily reviews the decisions of the intermediate courts. A jurisdiction's supreme court is that jurisdiction's highest appellate court. Appellate courts nationwide can operate by varying rules.