Judge Shaw
The Tribunal is not seized of an intelligible application. The applicant has failed to identify the impugned administrative decision or decisions for which he is seeking relief. He has also failed to identify any steps taken by him to seek administrative review of the impugned administrative decisions. The Tribunal therefore has no jurisdiction pursuant to Article 2 (1) (a) and Article 8(1) of the Statute of the UNDT or the equivalent provisions of the Statute of the former 缅北禁地Administrative Tribunal to consider the application. Second, the applicant has failed to comply with two orders of the...
The time for requesting a management evaluation in this case is specified in Staff Rule 111.2(c). This rule provides that a request for management evaluation should not be receivable by the Secretary-General unless it was sent within 60 days of notification of the contested administrative decision. The Secretary-General is able to extend this time limit pending efforts for informal resolution by the office of the Ombudsman. In this case there is no evidence that the parties submitted the matter to the office of the Ombudsman for mediation within the deadlines for filing a management evaluation...
Judicial Review is a supervisory jurisdiction. It is not a jurisdiction which a tribunal may exercise over itself. The former UNAT and the UNDT were and are creatures of statute. Each has the ability, inherent to all courts and tribunals, to imply powers to prevent abuses of process; however, the jurisdiction of each tribunal is limited by the provisions of its respective empowering statute. In the absence of specific jurisdiction conferred on a statutory tribunal by statute, the power to exercise a supervisory jurisdiction such as judicial review cannot be implied. This conclusion is...
As the matter had been formally, although mistakenly, transferred to the UNDT in Nairobi and is registered in its records, it is appropriate to issue an order striking out the case so that this matter is formally closed on the court’s docket and is properly recorded as such. UNDT ordered that the application be struck out.
While the change of the country of home leave referred to in ST/AI/367 is stated to be permanent, it is not unconditional, but subject to the Secretary-General being satisfied of the three specified conditions, which include its consistency with the purposes and intent of staff regulation 5.3.Former staff rule 105.3 gave internationally recruited staff the opportunity to take home leave to visit their home country at 缅北禁地expense. Providing staff rule 105.3 (d) that the country of home leave shall be the country of the staff member’s nationality, the logical corollary is that if a staff member...
The applicant was not separated because of the expiry of his short-term contract -he did not have a signed contract- but because of a disciplinary measure following the findings of the selection panel. The separation of the applicant was unlawful in two respects: the decision was made without proper delegated authority (the authority to terminate a short-term appointment as a result of disciplinary measures has not been delegated by the Secretary-General in accordance with ST/AI/234/Rev.1) and the process was in violation of the rules governing separation as a disciplinary measure, including...
The applicant was not separated because of an organisational necessity neither because of the expiry of his short-term contract -he did not have a signed contract. He was separated because of a disciplinary measure following the findings of the selection panel. The separation of the applicant was unlawful for two reasons: the decision was made without proper delegated authority (the authority to terminate a short-term appointment as a result of disciplinary measures has not been delegated by the Secretary-General in accordance with ST/AI/234/Rev.1) and the process was in violation of the rules...
The appeal is withdrawn and the case is closed.
Outcome: For distress: USD5,000. For loss of chance: (a) 10 percent of the difference between the salary the applicant actually carries and that she would have received in the D-2 position on a continuous basis, (b) 10 percent of any additional allowances and benefits she would have received at the D-2 level including adjustment of her pension contributions and consequent retirement benefits.
Outcome: Appeal upheld. Decision held to be a breach of staff regulation 2.1 and the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Respondent ordered to pay compensation of the difference in salary, allowances and other entitlements between the applicant’s current level and the level at which she should have been classified since the date she made her request. Respondent ordered to pay compensation for non-material damage due to frustration and humiliation compounded by delays at six months’ net base salary.
The apportionment of points was not done fairly or objectively in two respects:- Experience: logically, either both the Applicant and the selected candidate should have received the maximum 50 points or the Applicant should have been given more than the selected candidate.- Languages: the Applicant’s had five less points than the selected candidate. An objective evaluation would have given her more. Outcome: The Tribunal found that evaluation of the Applicant’s candidacy for the concerned position was not carried out in a full and fair manner and awarded her compensation in the amount of 4...
Outcome: Application dismissed as the preponderance of evidence demonstrated that the applicant’s candidature had been given full and fair consideration.
The Dispute Tribunal may suspend or waive the deadlines for the filing of applications imposed by the Statute and Rules of Procedure, but may not suspend or waive the deadlines in the Staff Rules concerning management evaluation because this is the prerogative of the Secretary-General.The drafters of the Statute of the Dispute Tribunal intended that all applications to the Tribunal would be subject to the rules under which this Tribunal operates. Therefore, pursuant to Article 8.3 of the Statute, the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to extend the deadlines for the filing of requests for...
Staff members with permanent appointments are afforded additional protections, particularly when nearing retirement age. Administration’s obligation to protect the position of a permanent staff member includes, at least, an enquiry and the taking of reasonable steps to ascertain if there were any suitable positions available for the staff member. The staff member is required to cooperate in this search but the responsibility for protecting the position of the permanent employee is primarily with the employer.The universal obligation of both employee and employer to act in good faith towards...
The meaning of any legislative provision is ascertained by the meaning of its words in the light of the intention of the rules as a whole. Where the wording of an instruction suggests that no exception is permitted, a number of common law jurisdictions have found the mandatory or directory dichotomy inappropriate.To establish the meaning and intention of a 缅北禁地provision the relevant context is the hierarchy of the UN’s internal legislation. This is headed by the Charter of the 缅北禁地followed by resolutions of the General Assembly, staff regulation and rules, Secretary- General bulletins and then...
The applicant’s supervisor should have recused himself from the Management Review Group (MRG) that reviewed the performance reports to avoid conflict of interest. However, this procedural irregularity was mitigated by the subsequent report of the Rebuttal Panel. Outcome: Respondent to pay the applicant the equivalent of one-month net base salary for suffering and stress.
UNDT found that the applicant could not be recruited from his general service post to the professional level without undergoing the required examination. The UNDT awarded three-months salary as compensation for the distress caused by the Organization.
UNDT held that it was only when the Applicant learned of the identity of the successful candidate that he could reasonably have apprehended that there were grounds for such a review. Time therefore runs from 2 March 2008. UNDT held that the time for filing the appeal ran from the time when the Applicant discovered the identity of the person which in turn gave rise to his apprehension that he had grounds for an appeal. Accordingly, his application for review was in time and his appeal is receivable.
The time for requesting an administrative review runs from the date the administrative decision was received by the staff member. The respondent’s refusal to fulfill the three requests of the applicant resulted in three administrative decisions. Even though these decisions were connected to the letter of reprimand they did not reiterate matters contained in the letter of reprimand and they were motivated by events subsequent to that letter.Outcome: The applicant’s request for administrative review was brought in time and his appeal against the outcome of that review is receivable.
Unlawfulness: There has to be evidence to establish that, at the very least, it is probable that the non-renewal decision of itself was unlawful. Irreparable harm: Harm is irreparable if it can be shown that suspension of the action is the only way to ensure that the applicant’s rights are observed. Although the applicant has expectation of fair treatment, any breach of due process in this case is capable of being compensated financially or by correction of the performance record. Should he be ultimately vindicated, he can get compensation for any losses arising out of defects in the...