R 0018/23 (Petition for review) vom 15.04.2026

Petition for review (unallowable)
Right to be heard - violation (yes)
Fundamental procedural violation within the meaning of Article 112a(2)(c) EPC (no) - no causal link between procedural violation and decision

Where a finding rests on two independent lines of reasoning and only one is tainted by a violation of the right to be heard, there is no causal link between the violation and the decision. Whether the two lines of reasoning are independent is to be ascertained from the perspective of the relevant Board, through an analysis of the words it chose to use and without any review of the technical merits of the case (points 4.3.3-4.3.5).