39 | II Série A - Número: 023S1 | 27 de Outubro de 2014

ANNEX I

STATUTE OF THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT

ARTICLE 1 Scope of the Statute

This Statute contains institutional and financial arrangements for the Unified Patent Court as established under Article 1 of the Agreement. CHAPTER I – JUDGES

ARTICLE 2 Eligibility of judges

(1) Any person who is a national of a Contracting Member State and fulfils the conditions set out in Article 15 of the Agreement and in this Statute may be appointed as a judge.
(2) Judges shall have a good command of at least one official language of the European Patent Office.
(3) Experience with patent litigation which has to be proven for the appointment pursuant to Article 15(1) of the Agreement may be acquired by training under Article 11(4)(a) of this Statute.

ARTICLE 3 Appointment of judges

(1) Judges shall be appointed pursuant to the procedure set out in Article 16 of the Agreement.
(2) Vacancies shall be publicly advertised and shall indicate the relevant eligibility criteria as set out in Article 2. The Advisory Committee shall give an opinion on candidates' suitability to perform the duties of a judge of the Court. The opinion shall comprise a list of most suitable candidates. The list shall contain at least twice as many candidates as there are vacancies. Where necessary, the Advisory Committee may recommend that, prior to the decision on the appointment, a candidate judge receive training in patent litigation pursuant to Article 11(4)(a).
(3) When appointing judges, the Administrative Committee shall ensure the best legal and technical expertise and a balanced composition of the Court on as broad a geographical basis as possible among nationals of the Contracting Member States.
(4) The Administrative Committee shall appoint as many judges as are needed for the proper functioning of the Court. The Administrative Committee shall initially appoint the necessary number of judges for setting up at least one panel in each of the divisions of the Court of First Instance and at least two panels in the Court of Appeal. (5) The decision of the Administrative Committee appointing full-time or part-time legally qualified judges and full-time technically qualified judges shall state the instance of the Court and/or the division of the Court of First Instance for which each judge is appointed and the field(s) of technology for which a technically qualified judge is appointed. (6) Part-time technically qualified judges shall be appointed as judges of the Court and shall be included in the Pool of Judges on the basis of their specific qualifications and experience. The appointment of these judges to the Court shall ensure that all fields of technology are covered.

ARTICLE 4 Judges' term of office (1) Judges shall be appointed for a term of six years, beginning on the date laid down in the instrument of appointment. They may be re-appointed.