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TITLE IU.K. PARTIES TO PROCEEDINGS, OFFICE AND EXAMINATION OFFICES

CHAPTER II U.K. The Office

Section 1 U.K. Committees of the Office

Article 6U.K.Qualification of members of the Committees

1.The Committees referred to in Article 35(2) of the basic Regulation shall, at the discretion of the President of the Office, be composed of technical or legally qualified members, or both.

2.A technical member shall hold a degree, or shall be qualified by recognised experience, in the field of plant science.

[F13. A legally qualified member shall be a graduate in law with recognised experience in the field of intellectual property, plant variety rights or plant variety registration.]

Article 7U.K.Decisions of the Committee

1.A Committee shall, besides taking the decisions referred to in Article 35(2) of the basic Regulation, deal with:

2.A decision of the Committee shall be taken by a majority of its members.

Article 8U.K.Power of individual members of the Committees

1.The Committee shall designate one of its members as rapporteur on its behalf.

2.The rapporteur may in particular:

(a)perform the duties under Article 25 and monitor the submission of reports by the Examination Offices, referred to in Articles 13 and 14;

(b)pursue the procedure within the Office, including the communication of any deficiencies to be remedied by a party to proceedings and the setting of time limits; and

(c)ensure a close consultation and exchange of information with the parties to the proceedings.

Article 9U.K.Role of the President

The President of the Office shall ensure the consistency of decisions taken under his authority. He shall in particular lay down the conditions under which decisions on objections lodged pursuant to Article 59 of the basic Regulation, and also decisions pursuant to Articles 61, 62, 63 or 66 of that Regulation, are taken.

[F1Article 10 U.K. Consultations

Members of the staff of the Office may use, free of charge, the premises of national agencies referred to in Article 30(4) of the basic Regulation and those of Examination Offices and agencies referred to in Article 13 and Article 14, respectively, of this Regulation, for holding periodical consultation days with parties to proceedings and third persons.]

Section 2 U.K. Boards of Appeal

Article 11U.K.Boards of Appeal

1.For the purpose of deciding on appeals from the decisions referred to in Article 67 of the basic Regulation, a Board of Appeal is established. If necessary, the Administrative Council may, on a proposal from the Office, establish more Boards of Appeal. In that event, it shall determine the allocation of work between the Boards of Appeal thus established.

2.Each Board of Appeal shall consist of technical and legally qualified members. Article 6(2) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis. The chairman shall be a legally qualified member.

3.The examination of an appeal shall be assigned by the chairman of the Board of Appeal to one of its members as rapporteur. Such assignment may include, where appropriate, the taking of evidence.

4.Decisions of the Board of Appeal shall be taken by a majority of its members.

[F25. The Chairman and the members of the Board of Appeal shall receive remuneration for the performance of their assignments. That remuneration shall be determined by the Administrative Council of the Office and be based on a proposal by the President of the Office.]

Article 12U.K.Registry attached to a Board of Appeal

1.The President of the Office shall attach a registry to the Board of Appeal; members of the staff of the Office shall be excluded from the registry if they have participated in proceedings relating to the decisions under appeal.

2.The employees of the registry shall in particular be responsible for: