5.2. Composition

According to Art. 2(5) RPEBA (see also Art. 10 BDS/EBA), the Enlarged Board in proceedings under Art. 23(1) EPC consists of five legally and two technically qualified members. The chairman of the Enlarged Board who is, under current practice, also President of the Boards of Appeal, must be replaced by his alternate, and two of the legally qualified members must be external members of the Enlarged Board (see Art. 11(5) EPC).

In G 2301/15 the Enlarged Board held that the arrangements laid down in Art. 2(5) RPEBA and Art. 10 BDS/EBA for the composition of the Enlarged Board in proceedings under Art. 23(1) EPC were compatible with the EPC and general principles of law. It could not be inferred from Art. 23(1) EPC that a proposal to remove a member from office must be decided by the full Enlarged Board (consisting of all internal and external members under Art. 1 BDS/EBA).