When the requirement of leave to appeal was introduced at the beginning of 1980, the position of the Supreme Court as the court changed considerably. The earlier system of appeal with a hierarchy of three court instances was replaced by a system with two instances: a decision of a court of first instance may usually be appealed against to one superior court.
The introduction of a requirement for leave to appeal in early 1980 significantly altered the Supreme Court's position. The previous system, which involved a hierarchical structure with three court levels, was replaced by a two-tiered system: appeals could be made from a lower court to one higher court.