5.11.2 Relationship between Article 12(4) RPBA 2007 and Article 13 RPBA 2007

The board in T 1162/12 pointed out that it had been recognised in the case law that the fact that requests could have been presented at first instance was another criterion potentially to be considered when exercising discretion under Art. 13(1) RPBA 2007. This criterion was mentioned in Art. 12(4) RPBA 2007, and so in connection with the admissibility of requests filed at the start of appeal proceedings, but it was obvious that, if it could lead to the non-admission of those requests, it applied all the more so to late-filed ones (citing T 361/08 and T 144/09). See also T 143/14.

Likewise in the ex parte case T 133/12 the board considered it appropriate, when exercising its discretion under Art. 13(1) RPBA 2007, to take into account the provisions of Art. 12(4) RPBA 2007 (see also T 1587/07). The fact that the appellant had filed the requests after it filed the statement of grounds of appeal should not put the appellant in a better position than if it had filed them with the statement of grounds of appeal. See also T 2598/12.