UNDT/2011/159, Charles
UNDT held that the decision not to select the Applicant was appropriately reviewed by the JAB panel and therefore proper. UNDT held that the requirement of relevant experience was appropriate and necessary for this particular vacancy and that the selection process was conducted in a proper manner. UNDT held that the JAB panel addressed the appropriate legal principles and that, in applying those princples to the facts of the case, it asked the correct questions and considered the appropriate authorities. UNDT held that the Applicant failed to satisfy it that there was any material irregularity in the proceedings before the JAB, such as to call into question its conclusions. UNDT held that there was no substance in the Applicant’s allegation that there was an actual or perceived conflict of interest in the selection process. UNDT held that the copying of the two legal officers into certain correspondence was standard practice within the unit. UNDT held that the application failed and dismissed it in its entirety.
The Applicant contested the Organization’s alleged failure to grant him full and fair consideration for a post. He alleged that, had he been given such consideration and been subject to a competency-based interview, he would have had a fair and equal chance of satisfying the selection panel of his ability to perform the duties in question.
Procedural fairness is an important principle in employment relations designed to ensure transparency in the decision-making process. It is also intended to guard against the manipulation of selection criteria and or, alternatively, the imposition of criteria that are not truly job-related in order to confer an unfair advantage on a favoured candidate.