76. Upon receipt of a referral or a declaration pursuant to article 12(3), the Office will open a preliminary examination of the situation at hand. However, it should not be assumed that a referral or an article 12(3) declaration will automatically lead to the opening of an investigation. Documents accompanying a referral or declaration as well as any other information will be subject to critical analysis and independent evaluation by the Office. The Office’s approach to considering the factors set out in article 53(1)(a)-(c) will be the same irrespective of the way in which the preliminary
examination is initiated.