UNDT/2016/037, Gallo
The Tribunal rejected the application as non-receivable. The contested decision in the present case is not a final decision but a preliminary step after the fact-finding panel has completed its investigation report. Therefore, the contested decision is not an administrative decision capable of being appealed before the Tribunal.
The Applicant, a former Investigator at the P-4 level in the Investigations Division in OIOS, contests the decision taken by USG/DM, with the consent and approval of the Chef de Cabinet, to refer to UNICEF the responsibility to make a determination of misconduct on the basis of the report of a fact-finding panel formed under ST/SGB/2008/5.
As established by the United Nations Appeals Tribunal, the Dispute Tribunal is competent to review ex officio its own competence or jurisdiction ratione personae, ratione materiae, and ratione temporis (Pellet 2010-UNAT-073; O’Neill 2011-UNAT-182; Gehr 2013-UNAT-313; Christensen 2013-UNAT-335). This competence can be exercised even if the parties do not raise the issue, because it constitutes a matter of law and the Statute prevents the Dispute Tribunal from considering cases that are not receivable. The Tribunal notes that, pursuant to secs. 5.14 to 5.18 of ST/SGB/2008/5, a formal fact-finding investigation starts when the responsible office appoints a panel of at least two individuals from the department, office or mission concerned, who have been trained in investigating allegations of prohibited conduct or, if necessary, from the relevant roster kept by OHRM. Based on the report, the responsible official shall take a decision (sec. 5.18). In conclusion, the responsible official (sec. 5.18(a) and (b)) and/or the ASG/OHRM (secs. 5.18(c) and 5.19) must take decision(s) following the mandatory courses of action expressly stated in secs. 5.18(a)-(c) and 5.19 based on the indications from the report of the fact-finding panel, including the indication if the complaint was made in good faith or was based on malicious intent.