2015-UNAT-516

2015-UNAT-516, Fiala

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

UNAT considered two appeals by the Secretary-General against Order No. 136 (NBI/2010) and judgment No. UNDT/2014/007. UNAT held that it was not satisfied that the actions of the Secretary-General in filing two appeals amounted to an abuse of process and declined Ms Fiala’s application for an award of costs against the Secretary-General. UNAT held that there was no error of law or fact on the part of UNDT in deeming Ms Fiala’s application receivable. Noting that the weight to be attributed to evidence was a matter for UNDT, UNAT held that the arguments advanced by the Secretary-General did not persuade it that the conclusions of UNDT were manifestly unreasonable in all the circumstances of the case. UNAT found no merit in the Secretary-General’s challenge to the award of moral damages. UNAT dismissed both appeals, affirmed Order No. 136 (NBI/2010) and judgment No. UNDT/2014/007 and instructed the Registrar to close Case No. 2014-590.

Decision Contested or Judgment Appealed

Ms Fiala contested the decision to appoint her at the FS-4 level rather than the FS-5 Level. UNDT found for Ms Fiala, awarding compensation and moral damages.

Legal Principle(s)

Where UNDT renders separate judgments on receivability and on the merits, an appeal should be filed only after the final judgment has been rendered. UNAT cannot try a case de novo; it defers to UNDT on factual matters, especially when oral testimony is taken. UNDT is best placed to assess damages.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed on merits

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

Fiala

Entity

Case Number(s)

Tribunal