Inadmissibility of an unsigned complaint addressed to the Indictment Division of the Federal Tribunal

Facts

This decision concerns a complaint filed with the Indictment Division of the Federal Tribunal without the signature of the complainant. The General Directorate of the PTT was the opposing party.

The main question was whether an unsigned complaint addressed to the Indictment Division should be declared inadmissible, or whether the authority should grant the complainant an additional deadline to regularize the complaint, in accordance with the procedure provided for in the Federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal considered that when a complaint is addressed to the Indictment Division, the rules of the Federal Judicial Organization Act (JOA) apply, in particular Article 30 JOA which requires that all submissions to the Federal Tribunal be signed.

According to case law, the requirement of a handwritten signature is not a mere procedural requirement, but a condition for the validity of acts addressed to the Federal Tribunal. Thus, an…