By the Foreign-Related Criminal Defense Team · Zhiheng Law Firm (Shanghai) · Updated October 2026 · 6 min read
The verdict is read, the court rises, and the family is left doing arithmetic in a language they barely speak: ten days. That is the window a convicted defendant has to appeal a first-instance judgment in China. For foreign nationals the practical questions multiply — can the sentence change for the worse? Is the appeal a full retrial? Is it worth it? Here is how the second instance actually works.
1. The Ten-Day Clock
After a first-instance judgment, the defendant has ten days to appeal (for judgments; five for orders). The clock starts from receiving the written judgment, and the appeal can be filed through the original court or directly to the next-level court. For a detained foreign national, every step — getting the judgment translated, discussing it with family abroad, deciding, instructing counsel — happens inside those ten days. This is why the appeal decision needs to be prepared before the verdict is read, not after.
Miss the deadline and the judgment becomes final. There is no routine second chance. The extraordinary supervision procedure exists for genuine legal errors, but its threshold is high and its timeline uncontrolled. Treat ten days as the whole world.
2. "Appeal Without Added Punishment": The Rule That Protects Appellants
China follows the principle of appeal without added punishment (上诉不加刑): where only the defendant appeals, the second-instance court may not increase the sentence. The prosecution appealing separately changes the calculus — then the court can adjust in either direction. Families should understand this symmetry when weighing risk: an defense-only appeal does not expose the client to a heavier sentence.
3. What the Second Instance Actually Is
The appeal is heard by the next-level court, which reviews facts, evidence and law. Three realistic outcomes:
- Upheld — the original judgment stands.
- Amended — the sentence or characterization is adjusted in the defendant's favor (or, if the prosecution also appealed, either way).
- Remanded — sent back for retrial, on procedural grounds or unclear facts.
Most second-instance cases are decided on the written file; oral hearings are held where the court sees genuine factual dispute. A focused appeal brief — built on specific errors of fact or law, not general dissatisfaction — is the instrument that matters.
4. Is an Appeal Worth It? The Honest Test
- Is there a concrete, arguable error? Wrong amount calculation, ignored mitigating evidence, misapplied charge — appeals need targets, not moods.
- Did sentencing ignore something material? Restitution completed, letter of understanding obtained but unweighted, health grounds.
- What does the timeline buy? A second instance runs roughly two months; for a foreign national facing deportation after sentence, the arithmetic of remaining time in custody matters to the decision.
5. Beyond Appeal: Other Post-Verdict Routes
- Prosecutor's protest — if the prosecution believes the sentence was too lenient, it can protest within the same window; families should know the other side has a clock too.
- Detention-necessity review and sentence execution matters — where the person is serving a sentence, health and execution questions (including medical parole in serious cases) run on a separate track.
- Extraordinary supervision — the post-final remedy for genuine legal error; a real but demanding path that starts with rigorous documentation.
Questions We Hear From Families
Can my family member's sentence get worse because we appealed?
No — where only the defense appeals, the second-instance court may not increase the sentence (the appeal-without-added-punishment principle). If the prosecution appeals separately, the court may adjust in either direction.
The ten days are almost gone and we just received the written judgment. What now?
File the appeal within the deadline — an appeal can be filed through the original court and refined afterward. The grounds are argued in the appeal brief that follows. Missing the deadline is the one outcome that cannot be repaired.
Is the appeal a full retrial with new evidence?
Not automatically. Most second-instance reviews run on the existing file, with oral hearings where the court sees genuine factual dispute. New material evidence can be submitted, but the appeal brief must show why it changes the result.