The non-disciplinary or administrative measure imposed against the Applicant is unlawful because, at the date of issuance of the contested decision, there was no longer an existing employment contract with the Applicant who was no longer a staff member. Accordingly, the Secretary-General had no longer the authority to impose such a measure.The entire complex process of launching an investigation into allegations of misconduct, instituting a disciplinary process and completing it by issuing the final decision, if any, to impose a disciplinary or non-disciplinary measure against a staff member...
Rule 10.2
he second case was filed to address the Respondent’s contention that the first case was not receivable. The UNDT found that the Applicant was not required to seek management evaluation since the impugned decision followed the completion of a disciplinary process. Pursuant to art. 8.1(d)(ii) of the UNDT Statute, the Applicant was required to file his application with the Tribunal within 90 days from the date of notification of the contested decision. The Applicant, however, first sought management evaluation and subsequently missed the 90-day deadline for filing with the UNDT. The UNDT found...
The Tribunal concluded that, based on the inconsistencies identified in the complainant’s statement during the investigation, together with the absence of his testimony during the appeal, as the only direct witness apart from the Applicant, the complainant’s version of facts did not corroborate the other witnesses’ statements, except for one witness, who had only an indirect knowledge of the alleged incident. The Tribunal concluded that there was no reasonable link between the alleged physical assault and the existing injury. The Tribunal further concluded that the procedure followed was...
Establishment of the facts which form the basis of disciplinary measures The Tribunal emphasized that the establishment of the facts was not contested by the Applicant. The Applicant admitted to having taken, on four occasions and without authorisation, a total of four beehives that belonged to UNOG and brought them back to his home, between October 2015 and February 4 2016. He also admitted to having them repainted, for having removed their nameplates and for wanting to install them in his garden. Do the established facts constitute a fault? The Tribunal was of the opinion that the removal of...
Due process rights: Disciplinary proceedings are of an administrative and not of a criminal nature, hence criminal law procedures do not apply. The Applicant’s due process rights are contained in the relevant administrative issuances, under which rights such as the right to counsel and to be informed about the charges against him do only apply as of the moment the disciplinary procedure is initiated (charge letter), but not at the stage of the preliminary investigation. The right to cross examine witnesses does not apply at any stage of the administrative procedure, but only once the case is...
The failure to re-interview the subject of an investigation to confront him/her with additional gathered evidence constitutes a breach of his/her due process rights: the contested disciplinary decision is unlawful since it was taken based on the evidence and recommendations of the SIU/UNAMID investigation reports issued in January 2013 and December 2013, even though the SIU/UNAMID continued the investigation and gathered additional evidence from two witnesses in January 2015 and April 2015. The new evidence was never brought to the attention of the Applicant or of the decision-maker before...
The Tribunal concludes that the Applicant’s application for the three P-3 posts was not fully and fairly considered, since the Hiring Manager did not personally evaluate her candidacy based on the information included in the PHP and e-PAS reports, while formally endorsing the decision of the CSS/OSU not to shortlist the Applicant. The Applicant’s e-PAS reports contained essential information regarding the Applicant’s fulfilment of the highly desirable requirements for the job opening. The Tribunal concludes that it has no competence to order the Secretary-General to assess the way the...
The Applicant’s actions were reasonable and in accordance with her obligation to carefully verify the cost of administrative services, procurement and logistical support, since all the costs were supported by UNAMI, in order to ensure that all the provisions of the OIOS Audit Manual were respected. There was no concrete negative result on the planned audit resulting from the annulment of the first MOP and that the Applicant’s actions, which she was taking in her capacity as CMS in UNAMI, consisting in a careful review of the alternative means to a face-to-face visit which could have resulted...
The Tribunal considered that despite the Applicant’s characterization of the contested decision as a “written reprimand” in his request for management evaluation and in his application, there was never a reprimand issued by an authorized official and, thus, there was no administrative decision to contest. The Tribunal, therefore, found that the application was not receivable ratione materiae. The Tribunal also noted that since the record related to the investigation of a complaint made against the Applicant was deleted from the Misconduct Tracking System (“MTS”), the Applicant’s claim in this...
As part of a closing statement, the Applicant submitted new written evidence. The Tribunal rejected all new evidence as this evidence could have been submitted before the closing of the proceedings and no exceptional circumstances justified the late submission. The Applicant was not fully informed of all the evidence upon which the Administration would rely to impose the disciplinary sanction. However, he was nevertheless informed of the allegations against him and therefore the Tribunal proceeded to a de novo review of the facts and a judicial review of the remaining aspects of the case. It...