UNDT/2013/023, Igbinedion
In this judgment, on one hand, the Tribunal ruled in favour of the Organization and on the other, in favour of the Applicant. For the Organization - the Tribunal found that non-renewal of the Applicant’s appointment was properly based on efforts by the Organization to streamline its practices in line with the funding situation it faced. For the Applicant - the Tribunal held that the Respondent’s repeated renewal of the Applicant’s appointment and penultimate renewal without a break-in-service with the same conditions of service gave the Applicant a legitimate expectation of renewal.
The Applicant contested Ãå±±½ûµØHabitat’s decision not to renew his Fixed-Term Appointment, which had expired on 18 April 2011.
Pursuant to staff regulation 4.5, a fixed-term appointment does not carry an expectancy of renewal. However, according to the Tribunal’s jurisprudence, discretionary decisions regarding renewal of appointments are subject to evaluation for reasonableness, lack of arbitrariness or improper purpose.
The Tribunal awarded the Applicant compensation in the amount of two (2) months’ net-base salary.