5.1. General

According to Art. 23(1) EPC, first sentence, members of the Enlarged Board of Appeal and the boards of appeal may not be removed from office during their term of appointment, except if there are serious grounds for such removal and if the Administrative Council, on a proposal from the Enlarged Board of Appeal, takes a decision to this effect. According to Art. 12a RPEBA, the Administrative Council or the Vice-President of the EPO in charge of the Boards of Appeal (since the structural reform in 2016, the Boards of Appeal are now organised as a separate unit directed by the President of the Boards of Appeal) may make a request to the Enlarged Board to make a proposal, to the Administrative Council, for the removal from office of a board member.