(1) The Administrative Council shall be competent to amend:
(a) the time limits laid down in this Convention;
(b) Parts II to VIII and Part X of this Convention, to bring them into line with an international treaty relating to patents or European Community legislation relating to patents;
(c) the Implementing Regulations.
(2) The Administrative Council shall be competent, in conformity with this Convention, to adopt or amend:
(a) the Financial Regulations;
(b) the Service Regulations for permanent employees and the conditions of employment of other employees of the European Patent Office, the salary scales of the said permanent and other employees, and also the nature of any supplementary benefits and the rules for granting them;
(c) the Pension Scheme Regulations and any appropriate increases in existing pensions to correspond to increases in salaries;
(d) the Rules relating to Fees;
(e) its Rules of Procedure.
(3) Notwithstanding Article 18, paragraph 2, the Administrative Council shall be competent to decide, in the light of experience, that in certain categories of cases Examining Divisions shall consist of one technically qualified examiner only. Such decision may be rescinded.
(4) The Administrative Council shall be competent to authorise the President of the European Patent Office to negotiate and, subject to its approval, to conclude agreements on behalf of the European Patent Organisation with States, with intergovernmental organisations and with documentation centres set up on the basis of agreements with such organisations.
(5) The Administrative Council may not take a decision under paragraph 1(b):
– concerning an international treaty, before its entry into force;
– concerning European Community legislation, before its entry into force or, where that legislation lays down a period for its implementation, before the expiry of that period.
