UNDT/2020/068, Hejamadi
The Applicant does not show, or even allege, any exceptional circumstances which may have precluded her from timely accessing the invitation email to the written test. Accordingly, the Applicant has not shown that the Administration denied her full and fair consideration. The decision that the Applicant was ineligible signified the end of the process as far as she was concerned. This decision cannot be described as merely preparatory and was therefore reviewable.
The Applicant’s exclusion from the selection process for the post of Finance and Budget Officer within the United Nations Environment Programme (“UNEP”).
The preliminary steps in a selection process may be challenged only in the context of an appeal against the outcome of the selection process, but cannot alone be the subject of an appeal to the Dispute Tribunal. The Secretary-General has broad discretion in matters of staff selection. When reviewing such decisions, the Tribunal shall examine (1) whether the procedure as laid down in the Staff Regulations and Rules was followed and (2) whether the staff member was given fair and adequate consideration. The role of the Tribunals is to assess whether the applicable regulations and rules have been applied and whether they were applied in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. The Tribunals’ role is not to substitute their decision for that of the Administration. The starting point for judicial review is a presumption that official acts have been regularly performed. If management is able to minimally show that the applicant’s candidature was given a full and fair consideration, the burden of proof shifts to the applicant who then must show through clear and convincing evidence that he or she was denied a fair chance of selection.