EPO’s acts were seriously flawed

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SUEPO

EPO’s acts were seriously flawed

At its 126th session, the ILOAT set aside the disciplinary measures which EPO President Batistelli inflicted on three Union representatives

Union Syndicale Fédérale is relieved and delighted about the results of the 126th Session of the ILOAT. A number of EPO colleagues, arbitrarily downgraded or even dismissed won their cases again. Instead of damages, ILOAT ordered reinstatement in the dismissal cases, an indication that the EPO’s acts were not only flawed but seriously flawed.

As the outgoing President of the EPO, Mr. Battistelli, praises his brilliant contribution to the EPO’s alleged success over the last eight years, the 126th ILOAT session results are a further powerful indicator of Mr. Battistelli’s disastrous, not sustainable management of the EPO.

The 126th ILOAT session coincides with serious doubts expressed by a number of external actors of the Intellectual Property world on the sustainability of Mr Battistelli´s policy, especially on excessive production targets that put a threat on the required high level of quality of the patents granted. The petition signed by 900 EPO examiners on the same issue was quoted.

This week’s German “Wirtschaftswoche”, a leading magazine for economics, comes with a harsh criticism of Mr Battistelli’s policies, the general lack of search for consensus, the use of public funds outside public scrutiny, his autocratic style.

Over the last few years, the ILO Governing Board’s requests to Mr Battistelli seem to have been flatly ignored. The ILO Governing Board also launched a consultation process amongst the more than 60 member organisations which rely on the ILOAT as an internal jurisdiction, aiming at creating a procedure allowing the termination of the cooperation with organisations which do not anymore meet the initial commitment. In other words, an organisation that does not behave anymore as an international public service organisation will have to seek other jurisdiction. Such an initiative is unheard of in the ILOAT’s 90 years of service. Such a termination imposed by the ILO would trigger an institutional crisis of the international organisation concerned, dramatic for both staff and organisation.

In the light of the ILOAT 126th session’s results and all other abundantly available evidence, it is not exaggerated to claim that Mr Battistelli leaves the EPO to his successor as a uniquely messy construction site, whatever the production figures. A thorough analysis will have to be run jointly by the new President of the EPO and the EPO staff representatives, to take stock on the damage done as a first step.

USF wishes to warmly congratulate all claimants who obtained a decision at the historical 126th session of the ILOAT and also the supporting branches of SUEPO. Under extreme adverse conditions, solidarity and the impressive resilience of the claimants and union officials allowed to re-establish a minimum level of rule of law fundamentals.

Complaints allowed: Judgments 4052, 4047, 4043, 4042, 4051

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