Judgment No. 3959

• Organization: European Patent Organisation (EPO)
• Date: 24.01.2018
• Original: English
• Judges: Barbagallo, Hansen, Moore
• Full judgment text - Full judgment text (french)

Decision

The complaint is dismissed.

Summary

The complainant impugns the Administrative Council’s implied rejection of his request to instruct the President of the Office to ensure the immediate return to him of his USB memory stick seized by the EPO Investigative Unit.

Judgment keywords

Keywords

final decision; complaint dismissed

Consideration 6

Extract:

According to the Tribunal’s case law, ‘[o]rdinarily, the process of decision-making involves a series of steps or findings which lead to a final decision. Those steps or findings do not constitute a decision, much less a final decision. They may be attacked as part of a challenge to the final decision but they themselves, cannot be the subject of a complaint to the Tribunal.’” (See Judgment 3958, under 15.)

Reference(s)

ILOAT Judgment(s): 3958

Keywords

final decision; step in the procedure