2.4.4 Two boards of appeal

Different decisions by a single technical board in differing compositions may be the basis of an admissible referral by the President (G 3/08 date: 2010-05-12, OJ 2011, 10). In G 1/04 (OJ 2006, 334), the Enlarged Board found the President's referral, based on two different decisions of the same technical board of appeal, admissible and stressed that the decisions were rendered by the board in completely different compositions and that other technical boards had adopted the findings of one of the conflicting decisions.

In G 4/98 (OJ 2001, 131) the Enlarged Board stated that if the President's power of referral were to be defined by a restrictive reading of "two Boards of Appeal", no referrals would be possible with respect to the Legal Board of Appeal. This would unduly restrict the effect of Art. 112 EPC, since conflicting decisions could also occur within that board. See also G 3/19.