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UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that it would not approve the award of compensation when absolutely no harm had been suffered. UNAT agreed with the UNDT that a staff member had the right to be informed of administrative decisions affecting them, however, UNAT held that a few days lapse was inconsequential and, in the matter before it, had no consequences. UNAT vacated the part of the UNDT judgment awarding compensation.

UNAT affirmed that the circumstances of the allegation of unsatisfactory conduct in the present case created the obligation to initiate a preliminary investigation. However, UNAT noted that UNDT erred in awarding damages to Mr Abboud while finding that he had not suffered any economic loss and that no actual damage existed. UNAT rescinded the UNDT’s judgment to the extent that it awarded damages to Mr Abboud.

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General and a cross-appeal by Mr Bertucci. Recalling that compensation in the absence of actual injury is without legal basis, UNAT held that UNDT erred in law. However, acceding in part to the cross-appeal by Mr Bertucci, UNAT held that when the disciplinary procedure does not bear out allegations against a staff member that may have been considered during a preliminary investigation, entitlements that may have been lawfully withheld pursuant to administrative instruction ST/AI/2004/3 must be paid in full, including interest. UNAT held that the award...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal. UNAT noted that UNDT did not find that the Applicant was distressed by UNHCR’s illegal conduct or that he had suffered any adverse consequences or harm from UNHCR’s procedural error in following the opinion of DSS. UNAT held that UNDT had exceeded its competence and made an error in law in awarding compensation to the staff member since he had not suffered pecuniary loss or distress and was not harmed by the illegal conduct. UNAT upheld the appeal and reversed the UNDT judgment regarding the award of damages to the staff member.

UNAT held that the Appellant simply stated that he suffered harm following the decision not to reclassify his post but did not provide any evidence of harm to his career or morale. UNAT held that compensation may only be awarded if it has been established that the staff member actually suffered damages. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT judgment.

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that there was no nexus between the emotional distress of preparing for the exam and the impugned decision as the preparation took place prior to the decision. UNAT held that UNDT’s finding that the contradictory information received by Ms Mirkovic and the lack of responses from the Chief of the Examinations and Tests Section added to her stress and injury was not supported by the facts, noting that written confirmation of what the Chief had told her was not required in order for her to request management evaluation. UNAT held that...

UNAT held that the Appellant, though entitled to receive a summary of the findings of the investigation report, was not entitled to receive a copy of the full investigation report without showing exceptional circumstances, which he did not do and UNAT, therefore, upheld the findings of UNDT on this point. On compensation, UNAT noted that the Appellant presented no evidence to prove that the violation of the three-month deadline undermined the investigation and the outcome of the complaint, or that he suffered actual prejudice. UNAT held that the Administration’s offer of USD 1,000 was...

The Appellant appealed the UNRWA DT judgment failure to consider several points and to address compensation. UNAT held that the Appellant did not identify any of the requisite grounds in his appeal. UNAT held that it would not allow new claims to be raised on appeal when the circumstances giving rise to such claims were known to a party at the time and should have been presented to UNRWA DT. UNAT upheld the UNRWA DT’s decision not to award compensation on the basis that there was no evidence in support of the Appellant’s claim of psychological suffering. UNAT held that the Appellant’s case was...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General in which he appealed the order of the award of damages and averred that UNDT erred on questions of law and fact and exceeded its competence in awarding damages. UNAT held that the reasonable expectation of the duration of Mr Andreyev’s contract was one year and reduced the award of compensation in lieu of rescission. UNAT held that there was no evidence of harm to support the award for moral damages. UNAT granted the Secretary-General’s appeal, reduced the UNDT’s award of compensation in lieu of rescission to nine months’ net base salary, less...

UNAT held that the Appellant did not address any error of fact or law in the UNDT judgment. UNAT held that the irregularities in the procedure did not amount to a breach of the Appellant’s due process rights. UNAT held that it was irrelevant whether the Appellant filed his application before UNDT in the interests of justice or seeking an award of moral damages since there was no evidence of damages. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT judgment.