middel

Non-PRO Nederlands naar Engels Overig Juridisch (algemeen)

Het hof heeft de werkgever proportioneel aansprakelijk geacht. Hiertegen richt zich het middel.

Could someone please tell me what middel means in this sentence, or even better what the sentence as a whole means? I know that middel can mean plea, argument, remedy, defence and grievance among other things, but I'm not sure what it means here, as I don't really get the sentence.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Context: an employer is found liable by the kantonrechter so then appeals to the Hoge Raad, which in turn upholds the judgments of the kantonrechter.