(1) The Federal Patent Court decides according to its independent conviction gained as an overall result of the proceedings. The decision must state the grounds by which the judges were guided in coming to their conviction.
(2) The decision may be based only on facts and the results of evidence on which the parties were able to comment.
(3) If prior oral proceedings took place, a judge who was not present at the last session of the oral proceedings may participate in the taking of the decision only with the consent of the parties.