5.5. Adversarial judicial proceedings

In G 2301/15 the Enlarged Board held that proceedings under Art. 23(1) EPC were to be conducted in proper judicial form. A request by the Administrative Council initiated adversarial proceedings to which the board member concerned is a party as respondent (Art. 12a(4) RPEBA). The Administrative Council's request must set out all the facts, arguments and evidence relied on; all documents referred to must be attached (Art. 12a(5) RPEBA). According to the Enlarged Board, this provision requires that the Administrative Council's request specify individual incidents and the evidence for them, and give reasons why they constitute a serious ground within the meaning of Art. 23(1) EPC. It was not be up to the Enlarged Board to define of its own motion which facts may be derived from documents and exhibits. Simply referring to facts and evidence and leaving the Enlarged Board to reconstruct the events for itself neither satisfied the requirements of Art. 12a(5) RPEBA nor the respondent's right to know the charges against him. In the case in hand, as the Administrative Council's request was not substantiated as prescribed by Art. 12a(5) RPEBA, the Enlarged Board rejected the request as inadmissible.