2010-UNAT-093 | SYSTEM OF ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

2010-UNAT-093, Iannelli

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General on the matter of the interest. UNAT held that UNDT has the power to award interest but erred in ordering the payment of interest at the rate of eight per cent per annum. UNAT allowed the appeal in part, set aside the award of interest from the UNDT judgment, and awarded interest at the US Prime Rate applicable at the date that the entitlements became due. UNAT held that if the judgment was not executed within 60 days, five per cent should be added to the US Prime Rate from the date of expiry of the 60-day period to the date of payment of the grants.

Decision Contested or Judgment Appealed

Mr Iannelli challenged the decision not to pay him an assignment grant and relocation grant. UNDT found in Mr Iannelli’s favour and ordered the Secretary-General to pay him both grants and interest at the rate of eight per cent per annum from the date the payments fell due.

Legal Principle(s)

Both UNDT and UNAT have the power to award interest in the normal course of ordering compensation. The award of interest by UNDT and UNAT is necessary to ensure that payments to staff are made by the Organisation.

Outcome

Appeal granted in part

OAJ prepared this case law summary for informational purposes only. It is no official record and should not be relied upon as an authoritative interpretation of the Tribunals' rulings. For the authoritative texts, please refer to the judgment or order rendered by the respective Tribunal. The Tribunals are the only bodies competent to interpret their respective judgments, as provided under Article 12(3) of the UNDT Statute and Article 11(3) of the UNAT Statute. Any inaccuracies in the publication are the sole responsibility of OAJ, which should be contacted directly for any correction requests. To provide comments, don't hesitate to get in touch with OAJ at oaj@un.org.

The judgment summaries were generally prepared in English. They were translated into French and are being reviewed for accuracy of the translation.

Full Judgment

Applicants/ Appellants

Iannelli

Entity

UNOPS

Case Number(s)

2010-093

Tribunal

UNAT

Registry Location :

New York