2023-UNAT-1396, Sahar Darweesh Hanjoury
The UNAT held that the Appellant’s travel was not authorized pursuant to Staff Rule 7.10 because she had just one approved day of annual leave on 24 June 2021 followed by a period of R&R from the 12 July to 16 July 2021. The UNAT also found that the Administration took the appropriate action by sending her on 25 July 2021 an e-mail reminding her that all the international staff members had to submit their Sudanese visa renewal application in a timely manner. The UNAT held that the events that delayed the Appellant’s return to her duty station could not be construed as force majeure as they did not amount to unforeseen circumstances. On the contrary, these events were known or ought to have been known by the Appellant and were quite preventable.
The UNAT held that the Appellant’s allegation of being treated differently from other staff members on the same flight was untenable, as she did not establish any error in the impugned Judgment in support of her claim of discrimination.
The UNAT held that the Appellant could not rely on the screenshot of her leave overview in UMOJA to justify her claim that her travel was pre-authorized as she never sought leave to file this additional evidence. Therefore, she did not address whether there were any exceptional circumstances permitting the introduction of such additional evidence. Moreover, the UNAT held that the admission of such additional evidence would not be in the interest of justice and the efficient and expeditious resolution of the proceedings.
Last, the UNAT rejected the Appellant’s claim for moral damages as no illegality has been established.
The UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed Judgment No. UNDT/2022/121.
The Appellant, a staff member of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), contested the decision of the Administration not to pay her daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for 23 days, from 24 August to 24 September 2021, during her stopover in Khartoum, Sudan. In its Judgment No. UNDT/2022/121, the UNDT concluded that the decision not to pay her DSA was lawful and dismissed her application.
DSA is paid only for authorized or official travel or exceptionally in cases of other travel during stopovers under conditions established by the Secretary-General.
The UNAT may receive additional documentary evidence in exceptional circumstances and if it is in the interest of justice and the efficient and expeditious resolution of the proceedings. The party that wants to introduce such evidence should apply for leave to file additional evidence under Article 2(5) of the Appeals Tribunal Statute.
Compensation cannot be awarded when no illegality has been established; it cannot be granted when there is no breach of the staff members’ rights or administrative wrongdoing in need of repair.