Regulation (EU) 2016/796 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 57 Exclusion and objection

1. Members of Boards of Appeal may not take part in any appeal or arbitration proceedings if they have any personal interest in the proceedings, if they have previously been involved as representatives of one of the parties to the proceedings, or if they participated in the taking of the decision appealed against.

2. Where a member of a Board of Appeal considers that it is not appropriate for him or her or any other member to take part in any appeal or arbitration proceeding, on any of the grounds referred to in paragraph 1 or for any other reason, that member shall inform the Board of Appeal, which shall decide on the exclusion of the person concerned on the basis of the rules adopted by the Management Board pursuant to point (s) of Article 51(1).

3. Any party to the appeal or arbitration proceedings may object, in accordance with the rules of procedure established pursuant to Article 55(5), to any member of the Board of Appeal on any of the grounds referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, or if that member is suspected of partiality. No objection may be based on the nationality of the member concerned.

4. An objection under paragraph 3 shall only be admissible if it is made prior to the start of proceedings before the Board of Appeal, or, where the information constituting the grounds for the objection becomes known after the proceedings have started, within the deadlines laid down in the Board of Appeal's rules of procedure. The Board of Appeal member concerned shall be notified of the objection and shall state whether he or she agrees to be excluded. If he or she does not agree, the Board of Appeal shall take a decision within the deadlines laid down in its rules of procedure or, where there is no response, after expiry of the deadline set for issuing a response.

5. The Boards of Appeal shall decide as to the action to be taken in the cases specified in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 without the participation of the member concerned. For the purpose of taking that decision, the member concerned shall be replaced on the Board of Appeal by his or her alternate. The Management Board shall be informed of the decisions taken by the Board of Appeal.