Following calls in 2016 and 2019, the Advisory Committee received more than 1,000 applications, from all participating countries in Europe. Of these, 170 were invited for an interview. In the end, 90 judges were appointed, five of them full-time and 85 of them part-time. Of those 85 part-time judges, 34 are legally qualified and 51 are technically qualified. Our firm is extremely pleased that Bernard Ledeboer is one of them. It illustrates that exceptional and capable people work at our firm. By the way, the position of part-time judge will not jeopardize his work at the firm because the volume of cases will be limited, and Bernard will only participate in cases where our office does not play a role as a party. Thus, conflicts of interest are not possible.

The UPC will consist of three parts: a Court of First Instance, a Court of Appeal and a Registry. In addition to a central division, which will be based in Paris, with a section in Munich, the Court of First Instance will have local and regional divisions. Member states will designate the seat of these local and regional divisions. The Court of Appeal and the Registry will have their headquarters in Luxembourg. Finally, mediation and arbitration centers will be set up in Ljubljana and Lisbon and a training center for judges in Budapest.

Bernard is obviously delighted with his appointment and is looking forward to starting in his new capacity: "I have been slowly but surely growing towards this moment and I am now completely ready. Of course it will be a transition, having to put on my gown at regular intervals in addition to my practice as a patent attorney. I will also have to travel frequently
to the local divisions, but I don't mind that at all. I consider it an honor to be able to actively contribute to the implementation of the new legal system in this way."