(a) Agency Protest Official means the official, other than the contracting officer, designated to review and decide procurement protests filed with a contracting activity of the Department of Justice.

(1) This person will be at a level above that of the Contracting Officer, will be knowledgeable about the acquisition process in general and will have no programmatic interest in the procurement.

(2) This official shall be an individual designated by the head of the contracting activity and may be the Competition Advocate.

(b) Deciding Official means the person chosen by the protestor to decide the agency protest; it may be either the Contracting Officer or the Agency Protest Official.

(c) Interested Party means an actual or prospective offeror whose direct economic interest would be affected by the award of a contract or by the failure to award a contract.