Alternate Chair Disciplinary Committee of the European Patent Office (EXT/22224)

The European Patent Office (EPO) is the second largest public institution in Europe. With headquarters in Munich, a branch at The Hague, sub-offices in Vienna and Berlin and a small bureau in Brussels, it employs approximately 6 300 staff across all four sites and has a self-financed annual budget of EUR 2.0bn.

The EPO is seeking to appoint an Alternate Chair for the Disciplinary Committee to be called upon occasionally when disciplinary cases arise. A handful of disciplinary proceedings usually take place at the EPO per year, for which either the Chair or the Alternate Chair is assigned as presiding member.

The Disciplinary Committee is an advisory statutory body charged with reviewing cases of alleged misconduct brought by the administration in the name of the appointing authority. The Disciplinary Committee, comprising the Chair or Alternate Chair and members (employees of the Office appointed by the President and the Central Staff Committee in equal numbers), prepares reasoned opinions in respect of allegations against employees or former employees under the disciplinary authority of the President.

The aim of the Disciplinary Committee’s work is to provide the appointing authority, within statutory deadlines, with a logically solid, legally sound and well-reasoned opinion as a basis for a final decision on the matter.

Role
The Chair / Alternate Chair is responsible for the overall conduct of the work of the Disciplinary Committee and disciplinary proceedings, as defined in the Service Regulations for Permanent and Other Employees of the EPO and other applicable regulations. 
The Chair / Alternate Chair contributes to the provision of a timely, fair and independent disciplinary procedure consistent with fair trial principles, notably due process.

The EPO Service Regulations are available online at:  https://link.epo.org/web/about-us/transparency-portal/en-epo-codex-service-regulations.pdf. Applicants are referred particularly to Title VII – Disciplinary Measures.

Key tasks and responsibilities/accountabilities

• Managing all operations of the Disciplinary Committee and participating in and guiding all written and oral procedural stages of proceedings before it, up to and including the adoption of reasoned opinions.
• Serving as presiding member of the Disciplinary Committee, in particular assuming responsibility for procedural decisions, including the exchange of submissions, the setting of deadlines, the conduct of hearings, the taking of testimonies and the addressing of procedural motions as appropriate.

The Disciplinary Committee is assisted by a secretary.

Minimum qualifications

• Diploma of completed university studies at master’s level or – in exceptional cases – equivalent professional experience
• Qualifications required for appointment to high judicial office or lawyer with experience in the area of disciplinary law acquired at national or international level
• Proven and very high standards of performance
• Impeccable integrity and highest moral standards and respective authority
• The Alternate Chair cannot be a current employee of the EPO or have been an employee of the EPO within the past ten years.
• Procedures before the Disciplinary Committee can be conducted in any of the EPO’s official languages (English, French and German). The successful candidate is therefore expected to have a very good command of two of the official languages. The ability to understand a third official language would be considered an asset.

Remuneration
The remuneration includes fees paid on a daily rate to cover the proceeding, as well as preparatory and follow-up work in relation to any disciplinary proceeding which the Alternate Chair is called upon to preside over. Expenses for travel and daily subsistence will be paid for by the EPO in accordance with the provisions applying to employees of the Office.

Process and timeline
If you are interested in applying, please upload an updated CV and outline your motivation in the designated application field (limit: 4 000 characters). If you wish, you can also upload your motivation letter as a Microsoft Word document or pdf attachment under "Application document" in the EPO’s online job application software SuccessFactors. 

The successful candidate will be appointed for a period of three years and may be reappointed. Selection will be made on the basis of qualifications and interview(s).

For more information about the vacancy, please contact us via email to talentacquisition@epo.org.

The closing date for applications is 3 June 2025.
We intend to hold the interviews in calendar week 25/26 of 2025
 

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Key information

Duration of contract: 3 years

Location: Proceedings of the disciplinary committee may take place at any of the EPO's sites.

Application deadline: 3 June 2025

Interviews planned for: calendar weeks 25/26 of 2025