FPC, 04.08.2026, RR.2026.75
Facts
As part of a mutual legal assistance procedure with Germany, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) ordered, by closing decision dated June 11, 2026, the handover to the German authorities of the transcript of A.'s hearing (fact C).
On June 23, 2026, an appeal was filed on behalf of A. with the Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court.
The document was not signed by A. himself, nor by his usual lawyer, but by his father, B., acting "as representative."
A "general power of attorney" dated "April 16, 2003" was attached to the submission (fact D).
On June 24, 2026, the Appeals Chamber requested that B. produce, by July 6, 2026, an up-to-date power of attorney specific to the current appeal proceedings, failing which the appeal would be deemed inadmissible (fact E).
On June 26, 2026, B. responded by resubmitting a copy of the same general power of attorney dated 2003, asserting that it was sufficient (fact F).
Legal Analysis
The appeal procedure in matters of mutual legal assistance is governed by the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure (APA) (recital 1.1).
An appeal must be signed by the appellant or their representative (Art. 52 para. 1 APA).
If an authority has doubts regarding a representative's authority, it may require the production of a written power of attorney (Art. 11 para. 2 APA) (recital 1.3).
Procedural acts performed without a valid power of attorney are void, and the appeal is declared inadmissible (recital 1.3).
Even with a general power of attorney, the authority may require an updated or procedure-specific power of attorney, particularly if the existing one is old or vaguely worded (recital 1.4).
If the party fails to provide the required power of attorney within the set deadline, the authority will not consider the appeal, in accordance with the warning provided (Art. 52 para. 3 APA) (recital 1.2).
Application to the specific case
The appeal was not signed by A. himself, but by his father, B. (recital 1.5).
The general power of attorney provided, dating from 2003, was outdated and did not specifically mention these mutual assistance proceedings (recital 1.5).
The Complaints Chamber was therefore justified in requiring B. to produce an up-to-date, procedure-specific power of attorney, pursuant to Art. 11 para. 2 APA (recital 1.5).
B. failed to comply with this request within the allotted time.
He merely resubmitted the same inadequate power of attorney (recital 1.5).
As the formal requirement set by the Court was not met, the appeal must be declared inadmissible, in accordance with the warning previously issued (recital 1.6).
Outcome
The Complaints Chamber does not consider the appeal (operative part 1).
Consequently, it also does not consider the request for legal aid submitted in the same document (operative part 2).
Court costs, set at 500 CHF, are charged to B. in his capacity as a representative who acted without a valid power of attorney (operative part 3, recital 2).