When referring to the examining division an application which is not in order for grant of a patent, the examiner should confer with the other members of the division, bringing to their attention the points at issue, summarising the case history to the extent necessary to enable the other members to obtain a quick grasp of the essential facts, and recommending the action to be taken, e.g. refusal, or grant conditional upon certain further amendments. As the other members will need to study the case themselves, there is no need for a detailed exposition. It will be useful, however, to draw attention to any unusual features or to points not readily apparent from the documents themselves. If the examiner recommends refusal and the issue seems clear-cut, he or she may already provide a draft reasoned decision for issue by the examining division (see C‑V, 14); if the issue is not clear-cut, the drafting of the reasoned decision should be deferred until the division has discussed the case.
Source: http://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/guidelines/e/c_viii_3.htm
Date retrieved: 17 May 2021