page 30 of 50

Plot on a Map
Athens.

ephesis · Refusal to accept the decision of an official or a court of first instance, combined with a demand for the dispute to be resolved by a higher authority. For instance, Solon in the 590s is said to have introduced “ephesis to the dikasterion” as a curb on the summary jurisdiction of public officials; and from their introduction in c. 400 B.C., the decisions of public arbitrators were similarly subject to ephesis. Ephesis is traditionally translated “appeal,” but this can have misleading connotations. An appeal in English law is brought on the initiative of a dissatisfied litigant (in criminal cases, a convicted defendant) after the court of first instance has decided against him/her; it is his/her duty to persuade the appellate court to reverse the decision, and s/he becomes in a sense the plaintiff in the process. In Athens, there were at least some situations in which ephesis could take place before the lower authority had reached a decision; it was the duty of the original plaintiff, not of the dissatisfied litigant, to persuade the court to act (that it, the court was retrying the case from scratch and not reviewing a decision already made); and it is possible that in the case of Solonian ephesis, this referral was automatic and did not depend on an initiative taken by one of the two litigants.

Greek: ἔφεσις.

[ back to top ]

page 30 of 50