Judgment No. 3075
Decision
1. The EPO shall pay moral damages in the amount of 250 euros to the complainant and to each of the four interveners.
2. It shall also pay costs in the total amount of 500 euros.
3. The complaint is otherwise dismissed.
Consideration 7
Extract:
"An organisation has the duty to follow its own Rules, and to do its best to ensure the proper functioning of its internal appeal system. The application of time limits in the internal appeal procedure is a safeguard for a proper functioning of the system. The internal appeal procedure is indeed an important step in the remedying of disputes given that an appeal body's competence is broader than that of the Tribunal. Therefore, just as staff members have the duty to pursue their appeals with due diligence, an organisation has the duty to respect the time limits and cannot rely on staff members to monitor the procedures. The possibility of filing a complaint directly with the Tribunal is to be considered a further safeguard for a proper functioning of an internal appeal system and not a fast track for settling a dispute between the parties through a judgment from the Tribunal. Indeed, an internal appeal system which is not fully functional affects the right of defence."
Keywords
procedure before the tribunal; internal appeals body; direct appeal to tribunal; time limit; organisation's duties; staff regulations and rules; safeguard; delay in internal procedure
Judgment keywords
Keywords
complaint allowed; delay in internal procedure
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