Apelados

Apelados (singular: apelado) is a legal term used in civil procedure in Portuguese-speaking jurisdictions to designate the party against whom an appeal is filed in a court of second instance. The counterpart is the apelante, the party who files the appeal challenging a judgment issued by a first‑instance court. The apelado is the party that defends the original decision and may respond to the appeal with contrarrazões de apelação (counter-arguments).

Procedure and rights: After an appeal is admitted, the apelado is typically notified to present contrarrazões within a statutory deadline, commonly 15 days in many systems, though the exact period can vary by jurisdiction. The apelado may also use other remedies provided by law, such as embargos de declaração in appropriate cases, to seek clarification or correction of points raised in the appeal. The appellate court weighs the arguments from both sides and may uphold the first‑instance decision, modify it, or overturn it, potentially remanding the case for further proceedings.

Context and usage: The term is used in countries such as Brazil and Portugal, with procedural differences across jurisdictions but a consistent core concept: the apelado is the party opposing the appeal and defending the decision that was issued at the lower court level. Understanding the role of apelados helps clarify how appellate litigation proceeds and how outcomes are determined in civil procedure.