UNDT/2012/181

UNDT/2012/181, Candusso

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

The timely rescission of the publication of the Letter negated any potential harm or breach of the Applicant’s rights that may have occurred in the present case.; The Administration took the implicit decision of not providing the Applicant with his requested remedy to the publication of the Letter.; For the Tribunal to grant the Applicant unfettered access to iSeek for the; purpose of publishing a rebuttal letter without having it reviewed by the iSeek team to make sure that it conforms with its publishing guidelines would be akin to the Tribunal ordering a potential breach of the iSeek guidelines. Consequently, the only remedy available to the Applicant is to submit a letter directly to the iSeek team using the publication procedures currently in place, a remedy which does not need to be ordered by the Tribunal. The Applicant is also therefore not entitled to receive any compensation.; While the MEU’s response was provided to the Applicant beyond the 30-day; time limit identified in the Tribunal’s Statute, none of his rights were breached and the Applicant did not incur any damages from this procedural delay.

Decision Contested or Judgment Appealed

The Applicant contests the Secretary-General’s lack of response to his request; for access to the United Nations’ internal website (“iSeek”) for the purpose of; addressing comments contained in a letter that was posted on iSeek by the then; President of the United Nations Staff Union.

Legal Principle(s)

As a result of the rescission of the contested decision, the applications before the Tribunal were not receivable as none of the rights and terms of appointment of the staff members concerned were being breached at the time the application was filed, nor had they incurred any identifiable damages.; Not taking a decision, for example by not responding to a request for; investigation or a complaint, also constitutes an administrative decision capable of being contested.

Outcome
Dismissed on merits

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Applicants/ Appellants
Candusso
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Tribunal
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Applicable Law