Newsletter
COMPLAINT CANNOT BE FILED BY LAWYER WITHOUT SIGNA-TURE BY COMPLAINANT
It is common practice in criminal proceedings for a lawyer to bring a private prosecution or file a criminal complaint on behalf of a client. Article 53 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that a document prepared by a person other than a civil servant should be dated and signed; if it is not prepared by the person in whose name it is filed, it should be signed by that person, or if the person is unable to sign, he should have another person write his name and should affix his seal or fingerprint. In a 1981 criminal appeals judgment in a private prosecution, the Supreme Court, citing the above article, held that a petition of private prosecution must be signed or sealed by the complainant to have legal effect, and that an attorney does not have the authority to launch a private prosecution.
With respect to criminal complaints, in a 2001 criminal appeals judgment in a copyright in-fringement case the Supreme Court stated that a complaint must be filed in writing or verbally with a public prosecutor or judicial police officer. In the case in question, the complainant filed a written complaint with a public prosecutor through his attorney, but did not personally sign the complaint or affixed his seal or fingerprint to it in accordance with said Article 53; nor did he provide a power of attorney naming the lawyer as his attorney. However, the trial court failed to consider such procedural deficiencies, and pro-ceeded to pass a substantive judgment. The Su-preme Court, therefore, annul the judgment.