2010-UNAT-041, Balestrieri
UNAT held that her appointment was terminated due to a lack of funding; several of her colleagues also had their fixed-term appointments terminated for the same reason at the same time. UNAT held that the fact that the Appellant may have complained about her working conditions or cooperated in any subsequent preliminary investigation into possible harassment, did not on its face exposes her to the termination. UNAT held that there was no reversible error on part of UNDT. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT judgment.
The Applicant contested the decision not to renew her appointment and lodged a complaint with the Ethics Office, in which she reported retaliation for having previously reported misconduct or cooperated with a duly authorized investigation. UNDT found that the decision not to renew her appointment was not an improper exercise of discretion. UNDT found that there was no evidence that the Applicant was deprived of her right to file a formal complaint under the applicable Administrative Instruction.
The fact that a staff member may have complained about their working conditions or cooperated in any subsequent preliminary investigation into possible harassment, does not on its face expose them to the termination.