AI Summary of Article 59 Independence and impartiality
The members of the Board of Appeal shall be independent in making their decisions, shall not be bound by any instructions and shall not perform other duties in relation to the Authority, its Management Board or its Board of Supervisors. Members of the Board of Appeal and Authority staff providing operational and secretariat support shall not take part in appeal proceedings in which they have a personal interest, previously acted as a representative of a party, or participated in the decision under appeal; a member who considers another should not take part shall inform the Board.
Any party may object to a member on those grounds or for suspected bias; objections may not be based on nationality and are inadmissible if the party, while aware of a ground for objection, nonetheless took a procedural step other than objecting. The Board shall decide on such cases without the member concerned, who shall be replaced by an alternate, and if necessary the Chairperson shall designate a replacement from available alternates. Members must undertake to act independently and in the public interest and make public, annual written declarations of commitments and interests.
Article 59 Independence and impartiality
1. The members of the Board of Appeal shall be independent in making their decisions. They shall not be bound by any instructions. They shall not perform any other duties in relation to the Authority, its Management Board or its Board of Supervisors.
2. Members of the Board of Appeal, and staff of the Authority providing operational and secretariat support, shall not take part in any appeal proceedings in which they have any personal interest, if they have previously been involved as representatives of one of the parties to the proceedings, or if they have participated in the decision under appeal.
3. If, for one of the reasons referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 or for any other reason, a member of a Board of Appeal considers that another member should not take part in any appeal proceedings, he shall inform the Board of Appeal accordingly.
4. Any party to the appeal proceedings may object to the participation of a member of the Board of Appeal on any of the grounds referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, or if suspected of bias.
No objection may be based on the nationality of members nor shall it be admissible if, while being aware of a reason for objecting, the party to the appeal proceedings has nonetheless taken a procedural step other than objecting to the composition of the Board of Appeal.
5. The Board of Appeal shall decide on the action to be taken in the cases specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 without the participation of the member concerned.