UNDT/2024/027

UNDT/2024/027, Salloum

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

The Tribunal found that the Applicant engaged in multiple actions which amounted to serious misconduct. Therefore, his conduct not only displayed a serious failure to uphold the minimal standards of integrity conferred on an international civil servant, but it also displayed a flagrant disregard of the rules of the Organization. The Applicant’s conduct undermined the trust and confidence placed in him by UNICEF. Such trust and confidence are essential for the continuation of an employment relationship. In these circumstances, the Tribunal considered that it was appropriate for UNICEF to end its employment relationship with the Applicant.  

Decision Contested or Judgment Appealed

The Applicant, a former staff member of the United Nations Children's Fund (“UNICEF”), filed an application contesting the decision to impose on him a disciplinary measure of dismissal.  The Applicant contends that the disciplinary measure of dismissal was disproportionate in his case.

Legal Principle(s)

The Administration has the discretion to impose the disciplinary measure that it considers adequate to the circumstances of a case and to the actions and behaviour of the staff member involved, and the Tribunal should not interfere with administrative discretion unless the sanction imposed appears to be blatantly illegal, arbitrary, adopted beyond the limits stated by the respective norms, excessive, abusive, discriminatory or absurd in its severity. While the Dispute Tribunal must resist imposing its own preferences and should allow the Secretary-General a margin of appreciation, all administrative decisions are nonetheless required to be lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair.

Outcome
Dismissed on merits

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