4. Obligation to give reasons for refusal of each request

If a decision relates to several requests, it must give reasons for the rejection of each one. It must be clear from the decision which considerations led the division to its conclusions (T 234/86 (inter partes), T 169/96 (ex parte)).

According to T 961/00, it is a party's procedural right to file and maintain such requests as are regarded by the competent organ as unallowable or even inadmissible. If a party does so, then the competent organ has to give a decision on it, i.e. to refuse it if it is unallowable or inadmissible (see T 1105/96, OJ 1998, 249), but it cannot simply disregard it and deal with the case as if the request did not exist. On the contrary, this would constitute a substantial procedural violation.