A Legal Review of EU Boards of Appeal in Particular the European Chemicals Agency Board of Appeal

Abstract:

Boards of Appeal, established under EU law, are a relatively new legal construct. As the number of EU Agencies, Offices and similar EU decision making bodies has grown, so too has the number of EU Boards of Appeal, established to review certain aspects of their decision making. On the one hand, EU Boards of Appeal may be regarded as a welcome means of ensuring that the actions of all EU decision-making bodies are subject to EU legal scrutiny and that the general principles of EU law pervade all areas of EU regulation regardless of how technically or scientifically complex any one area, or any one decision in a particular area, may be. On the other hand, the legal status of EU Boards of Appeal, their legal powers, and the exercise of those powers is an area which has, to-date, been relatively unexplored by legal academics and practitioners. This paper aims to highlight some of the most important legal aspects regarding Boards of Appeal in the EU. It focuses on a newly established EU Board of Appeal: The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Board of Appeal, although references other EU Boards of Appeal including The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) Boards of Appeal.