9.1. General
9.1.1 Article 111(1) EPC
Under Art. 111(1) EPC, the boards, having examined the allowability of an appeal, decide on it either by exercising any power within the competence of the department which was responsible for the decision appealed or by remitting the case to that department for further prosecution. Art. 111(1) EPC thus establishes the legal framework for the decision-making powers of the boards.
Which of these two options the board chooses will depend on the specific facts of the case before it and is a matter for its discretion.
- T 1731/19
Catchword:
There is no right of the parties to choose in which form the Board of Appeal should exercise its competences under Article 111(1) EPC. The Board is entitled to decide on the issue of admittance of auxiliary requests without being bound to the respondent's request for prioritisation of the request for remittal. (Reasons, points 8.2 to 8.4)
- 2023 compilation “Abstracts of decisions”