(1)Either party to an appeal from a magistrate's court may appeal against the decision of the High Court in its appellate jurisdiction to the Court of Appeal on a matter of law, not including severity of sentence, but not on a matter of fact or of mixed fact and law.

(2)On any such appeal, the Court of Appeal may, if it deems that the judgment of the magistrate's court or of the High Court should be set aside or varied, make any order which the magistrate's court or the High Court could have made, or may remit the case, together with its judgment or order on it, to the High Court or to the magistrate's court for determination, whether or not by way of rehearing, with any directions the Court of Appeal may deem necessary.

(3)Notwithstanding subsection (2), in the case of an appeal against conviction, if the Court of Appeal dismisses the appeal and confirms the conviction appealed against, it shall not, except as provided in subsection (4), increase, reduce or alter the nature of the sentence imposed in respect of that conviction, whether by the magistrate's court or by the High Court, unless the Court of Appeal deems that the sentence was an unlawful one, in which case it may impose such sentence in substitution for it as it deems proper.

(4)If it appears to the Court of Appeal that a party to an appeal, though not properly convicted on some count, has been properly convicted on some other count, the Court of Appeal may, in respect of the count on which the court considers that the appellant has been properly convicted, either affirm the sentence passed by the magistrate's court or by the High Court, or pass any other sentence, whether more or less severe, in substitution for it as it thinks proper.

(5)Where a party to an appeal has been convicted of an offence and the magistrate's court or the High Court could lawfully have found him or her guilty of some other offence and, on the finding of the magistrate's court or of the High Court, it appears to the Court of Appeal that the court must have been satisfied of facts which proved him or her guilty of that other offence, the Court of Appeal may, instead of allowing or dismissing the appeal, substitute for the conviction entered by the magistrate's court or by the High Court a conviction of that other offence, and pass such sentence in substitution for the sentence passed by the magistrate's court or by the High Court as may be warranted in law for that other offence.

(6)On any appeal brought under this section, the Court of Appeal may, notwithstanding that it may be of opinion that the point raised in the appeal might be decided in favour of the appellant, dismiss the appeal if it considers that no substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred.

(7)For the purposes of this section, the proceedings of the High Court on revision shall be deemed to be an appeal.

(8)The provisions of section 40 other than subsection (2) of that section shall apply to a convicted appellant appealing under this section.