Boards of Appeal (BoAs) attached to EU agencies are a relatively new innovation. They are increasing in number. ECHA’s BoA was set up as part of REACH in 2006, but has only recently begun determining appeals. The rationale for BoAs is that an expert body should review the merits of a decision, without the EU courts needing to get involved, at least initially. That makes obvious sense: the relevant agencies deal with, sometimes, very technical matters. But there is a potential downside: BoAs are part of the agency whose decisions they are reviewing, which raises concerns about independence.
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