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Chapter III – The European Patent Office

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  1. Home
  2. The European Patent Convention – Contents
  3. European Patent Convention
  4. Part I
  5. Chapter III
  6. Article 23
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Article 23 – Independence of the members of the Boards

Article 10 – Management
Article 11 – Appointment of senior employees
Article 12 – Duties of office
Article 13 – Disputes between the Organisation and the employees of the European Patent Office
Article 14 – Languages of the European Patent Office, European patent applications and other documents
Article 15 – Departments entrusted with the procedure
Article 16 – Receiving Section
Article 17 – Search Divisions
Article 18 – Examining Divisions
Article 19 – Opposition Divisions
Article 20 – Legal Division
Article 21 – Boards of Appeal
Article 22 – Enlarged Board of Appeal
Article 23 – Independence of the members of the Boards
Article 24 – Exclusion and objection
Article 25 – Technical opinion

Article 2323
Independence of the members of the Boards

Part I – General and institutional provisions
Chapter III – The European Patent Office

(1) The members of the Enlarged Board of Appeal and of the Boards of Appeal shall be appointed for a term of five years and may not be removed from office during this term, except if there are serious grounds for such removal and if the Administrative Council, on a proposal from the Enlarged Board of Appeal, takes a decision to this effect. Notwithstanding sentence 1, the term of office of members of the Boards shall end if they resign or are retired in accordance with the Service Regulations for permanent employees of the European Patent Office. 

(2) The members of the Boards may not be members of the Receiving Section, Examining Divisions, Opposition Divisions or Legal Division. 

(3)24 In their decisions the members of the Boards shall not be bound by any instructions and shall comply only with the provisions of this Convention. 

(4)25 The Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal and the Enlarged Board of Appeal shall be adopted in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. They shall be subject to the approval of the Administrative Council. 


23Amended by the Act revising the European Patent Convention of 29.11.2000.

24See decision of the Enlarged Board of Appeal G 2/06 (Annex I).

25See the Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal, last amendments approved by decisiondecisions of the Administrative Council CA/D 5/19 of 26.06.2019 (OJ EPO 2019, A63) and CA/D 3/21 of 23.03.2021 (OJ EPO 2021, A19) and the Rules of Procedure of the Enlarged Board of Appeal, last amendments approved by decision of the Administrative Council CA/D 3/15 of 25.03.2015 (OJ EPO 2015, A35).
See decision of the Enlarged Board of Appeal G 6/95 (Annex I).

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EPC - Reference
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    R. 12a, R. 12b, R. 12c, R. 12d, R. 13
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