It is easy to assume that recurrir and apelar are synonyms, and recurso and apelación do indeed appear as such in many bilingual sources that inevitably translate both as “appeal.” However, they are not interchangeable. Recurso is a broad term denoting generically many types of appeals and legal remedies, both judicial and administrative. Thus, recurso may be a general term for “appeal,” or it may denote a specific means of appeal, depending on the context.

In contrast, (recurso de) apelación is a specific type of appeal (in Spain is known as a recurso devolutivo, or appeal to a higher court) from (or against) the decision of a trial court (tribunal de primera instancia), whether civil, criminal, administrative or labor. In that regard, recurso de apelación may perhaps be described as a “second instance appeal,” an “appeal of a trial court’s decision,” or perhaps as an “appeal to an intermediate appellate court,” but only in those instances in which a further appeal may be available if the apelación is unsuccessful. Verbs denoting the filing of a recurso de apelación are apelar or recurrir en apelación.