UNDT/2015/097, Nadeau
The Tribunal found the application to be irreceivable, ratione materiae, since the Applicant failed to file a timely request for management evaluation.
The Applicant appeals the refusal by the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services (USG/OIOS) to establish a fact-finding panel upon receipt of a complaint filed pursuant to ST/SGB/2008/5. The Applicant had filed a complaint under said bulletin in December 2013 against his supervisor; that complaint was discussed during a meeting between the Applicant and the USG/OIOS on 9 January 2014. By email of the same day, the USG/OIOS informed the Applicant that in her view, the matters raised in his complaint did not arise to the level of misconduct, even in case they were substantiated. By email of 18 February 2015, referring to his complaint of December 2013, the Applicant requested the USG/OIOS to inform him whether she would close the matter or decide to establish a fact-finding panel. By response email of the same day, the USG/OIOS informed the Applicant that her decision of 9 January 2014 “still [stood]”. The Applicant filed a request for management evaluation of the refusal decision on 19 February 2015.
Receivability: For an application to be receivable ratione materiae, the Applicant must first have filed a timely request for management evaluation. The date of an administrative decision, as of which the statutory time-limit of 60 days starts to run, has to be based on objective elements that both the staff member and the Administration can accurately determine. Confirmative decision: In the absence of new facts or information, the reiteration of an unambiguous administrative decision does not constitute a new administrative decision and does not reset the clock with respect to the statutory time limits, which start to run from the date of the original decision.