UNDT/2020/178, Palit
Receivability The Applicant’s request for management evaluation was out of time. Thus, the application concerning the Applicant’s separation from service due to post abolition is not receivable ratione materiae. It is clear from the evidence on file that the application concerning the Applicant’s separation from service due to post abolition is time-barred and, consequently, not receivable ratione temporis. Non selection for the re-advertised post of Fundraising Officer The burden to prove unlawfulness in relation to non-selection lays with the Applicant as per the consistent internal case law establishing a presumption of regularity of official acts. It is incumbent on the Applicant to argue and demonstrate that his non-selection was tainted by improper motives, bias, or even as retaliation against him. The fact that an investigation was taking place at the time does not lead to the immediate conclusion that harassment and bias had actually occurred thus tainting the recruitment process. Consequently, the Tribunal finds that the Applicant has not met his burden of proof. The Applicant’s refusal to attend the interview results from his own volition and prevents the Tribunal from assessing if the decision not to select him for the readvertised position in the India Country Office, was, in fact, tainted by any improper motive.
The Applicant contested his separation from service upon abolishment of post and his non-selection to the post of Fundraising Officer.
Under art. 8 of the UNDT Statute, an application is receivable if it is filed within 90 days of receipt of the management evaluation response. It is a staff member’s responsibility to ensure that he or she is aware of the applicable procedure(s) and timelines, and ignorance of the law cannot be invoked in support of inter alia missed deadlines. The Tribunal does not have the power to waive statutory deadlines. The purpose of a management evaluation request is precisely to afford the Organization the possibility to correct its own procedures if a flaw in those procedures is identified. In failing to participate in the necessary recruitment procedures, the Applicant is estopped from contesting this aspect and without standing to contest the selection outcome.