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UNDT/2011/004

UNDT/2011/004, Meron

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

The Tribunal found this decision unlawful as not grounded on any valid legal basis. It awarded three months’ net base salary for moral damage.

Decision Contested or Judgment Appealed

The Applicant, a Finish national holding a short-term appointment, was selected for a post and offered a two-year contract, but OHRM informed her that, if she wished to be granted this contract, she would need to relinquish his permanent resident status in Australia.

Legal Principle(s)

Decision affecting the applicant’s rights: Since staff members have the right to apply to other positions under the Staff Rules and Regulations, they are entitled to contest a non-selection decision or one imposing an additional condition for appointment after having been selected. Such a decision does affect the staff member’s rights and is thus open to appeal. Lack of legal basis for the condition to renounce to permanent resident status: The General Assembly never endorsed the recommendations to approve the establishment of the condition that staff members must relinquish their permanent resident status in order to obtain an appointment with the Organization. There is no written rule prescribing such a condition. In addition, the terms of appointment of staff members and in particular the conditions for their recruitment are governed exclusively by the Staff Rules and Regulations, and, if anything else, by the administrative issuances promulgated in application thereof. The Secretary-General exceeded his authority in prescribing to the Organization’s services to generally apply an additional condition for recruitment of international staff members. Difference of post adjustment: Difference between post adjustments in two different duty stations is linked to the duty station where the staff member serves and cannot be claimed as a loss suffered by an applicant. Material losses: Potential and future prejudice as well as that not directly related to an unlawful decision do not constitute losses for which compensation may be claimed.

Outcome
Judgment entered for Applicant in full or 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.

Applicants/ Appellants
Meron
Entity
Tribunal
Registry Location :
Date of Judgment
Judge(s)
Language of Judgment
Issuance Type