UNDT/2022/125

UNDT/2022/125, Mollaoglu

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

The underlying reason behind the Applicant’s FTA not being renewed was the fact that he could not obtain a visa to join his duty station.  In the case at hand, the Applicant was not able to demonstrate that the decision not to renew his FTA beyond its expiration date was illegal, arbitrary or tainted by ulterior motives. As per the legal framework, an FTA does not carry any expectancy, legal or otherwise, of renewal, and shall expire automatically and without prior notice on the expiration date specified in the letter of appointment. In addition, obtaining a visa was, indeed, a condition sine qua non for the Applicant's employment with the Organization, as provided in the Applicant’s letter of offer. Furthermore, the reasons for the host country to refuse to issue a visa for the Applicant were of a personal nature and unrelated to the Applicant’s position with the Organization, and the Applicant has not provided any evidence that he was promised an extension of his contract beyond its expiry date. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the Organization cannot replace the host country in this regard and, therefore, cannot be held accountable for the refusal of the host country to issue a visa to the Applicant. The subsequent decision to not extend the Applicant’s FTA beyond its expiry date was, therefore, lawful. Finally, in relation to the Applicant’s claim that the Organization breached its duty of care, the Tribunal also found it meritless. Given the host country’s firm position of not granting a visa to the Applicant, the Organization’s decision to not renew or extend his FTA was well within its rights and discretionary authority. In addition, by allowing the Applicant to complete his FTA through teleworking from outside the duty station, the Organization did in fact fulfilled its duty of care towards the Applicant. In relation to the possibility of reassignment, the Organization was under no obligation to secure the Applicant another position at a different duty station. While specific conditions may have allowed for different staff members in similar situations to benefit from reassignment, as alleged by the Applicant, that does not mean that the Organization had an obligation to reassign him. Indeed, the evidence on record shows that the Organization did all it could to assist the Applicant and cannot be held accountable for a situation that was beyond its control.

Decision Contested or Judgment Appealed

The Applicant  contests the decision not to extend his fixed-term appointment (“FTA”) beyond its expiry date.

Legal Principle(s)

As a general principle of administrative law, a staff member bears the burden of proving that the contested administrative decision was illegal, arbitrary or tainted by ulterior motives.

Outcome
Appeal dismissed on merits
Outcome Extra Text

 

OAJ prepared this case law summary for informational purposes only. It is no official record and should not be relied upon as an authoritative interpretation of the Tribunals' rulings. For the authoritative texts, please refer to the judgment or order rendered by the respective Tribunal. The Tribunals are the only bodies competent to interpret their respective judgments, as provided under Article 12(3) of the UNDT Statute and Article 11(3) of the UNAT Statute. Any inaccuracies in the publication are the sole responsibility of OAJ, which should be contacted directly for any correction requests. To provide comments, don't hesitate to get in touch with OAJ at oaj@un.org.

The judgment summaries were generally prepared in English. They were translated into French and are being reviewed for accuracy of the translation.

Applicants/ Appellants
Mollaoglu
Entity
Case Number(s)
Tribunal
Registry Location :
Date of Judgment
Judge(s)
Language of Judgment
Issuance Type
Document Topic/Theme :