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POWER OF COMPLAINANT'S AGENT TO PROTEST A DECISION NOT TO PROSECUTE
Courts have long taken differing views in prac-tice on whether it is legal for the agent of a complainant in a criminal case, acting under a blanket power of attorney which includes the power to protest a decision not to prosecute, to file such protest without submitting another specific power of attorney if the public prose-cutor decides not to press charges after the agent has filed a criminal complaint on behalf of the complainant.
In an opinion dated 1 March 2000, the Ministry of Justice stated that the Code of Criminal Pro-cedures does not define the form in which a complainant may grant powers to an agent, nor does it delimit the scope of powers so granted; therefore, the extent of such powers depends on the content of the agreement between them. Thus, if a complainant has explicitly granted to an agent the power to protest a decision not to prosecute, and the agent protests on the com-plainant's behalf, such protest is legal.