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The UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General of WMO.
The UNAT found that the staff member was seeking to adhere to an agreed variation to his contract which, in return for foreshortening his period of employment, entitled him to a termination indemnity. The UNAT noted that the UNDT had been correct in establishing a direct and negative effect, brought about by the implementation of the contested decision, as a condition for receivability.
The UNAT was of the view that WMO’s decision purporting to rescind its agreement affected the staff member’s established career and personal...
The UNAT held that the UNDT did not err in finding that the facts underlying the written reprimand were established. The UNAT agreed that Ms. Kamara-Joyner’s advocacy for an individual staff member was outside of her roles and duties in both her capacity as a Conflict Resolution Officer for UNOMS and as President of UNPAD. The UNAT found that Ms. Kamara-Joyner failed to expressly seek approval for the conflict of interest between her two roles and refused to follow instructions on removing the conflict of interest. Accordingly, she was subject to a disciplinary or administrative measure. The...
The UNAT noted that several months after the Secretary-General had been notified of the Judgment, the only action taken was that some responses had been elicited from four staff members alleged in the complaint to have engaged in misconduct and that “these responses alongside the 22 pages and 18 annexes” to the complaint were under review.
Noting the justification of the Secretary-General for the inaction that in the instant matter, no specific time had been set for execution, the UNAT held that the Administration had not acted as promptly as per the obligations imposed on it, "within a...
The UNAT found that the UNRWA DT did not err in its award of in-lieu compensation. It appropriately considered Mr. Fanous’ chance of selection for the post when it stated that it considered there was no guarantee of a future selection. The UNRWA DT applied a context-specific lump sum amount. It considered the likelihood of selection and Mr. Fanous’ salary at the time. It made a determination that was fair and just in the present case but also took a principled approach that considered all relevant considerations.
As to Mr. Fanous’ request for moral damages, with regard to the First and...
The UNAT held that there was a clear disjunct in the UNDT’s decision to grant Mr. Nair’s application only in relation to the disciplinary measures (but not the administrative measures), and at the same time, rescinding the actual disciplinary decision. The UNAT noted the confusion presented by UNDT’s finding that “no misconduct occurred at all”, while at the same time accepting that Mr. Nair had “repeatedly reacted and used hostile language” which justified, in the UNDT’s view, the imposition of administrative measures. The UNAT held that the administrative measures under Staff Rule 10.2(b)...
The Tribunal found that, in the present case, there is no dispute that the decision was unilaterally made by the administration and that it involved the exercise of a power or the performance of a statutory instrument. The dispute is on whether the decision adversely affected the rights of the Applicant and produced direct legal consequences.
The Tribunal found that the Applicant’s argument that “UNOPS not only decided to charge [him], but also to maintain him in an indefinite status of “charged person,” leaving him indeterminately prosecuted; since as—at the time of the Application—he had...
The UNAT held that the Appellant’s travel was not authorized pursuant to Staff Rule 7.10 because she had just one approved day of annual leave on 24 June 2021 followed by a period of R&R from the 12 July to 16 July 2021. The UNAT also found that the Administration took the appropriate action by sending her on 25 July 2021 an e-mail reminding her that all the international staff members had to submit their Sudanese visa renewal application in a timely manner. The UNAT held that the events that delayed the Appellant’s return to her duty station could not be construed as force majeure as they...
The UNAT declined Mr. Turk’s request for an oral hearing, and found no error in the UNDT’s decision not to order the production of additional documents.
The UNAT reaffirmed the legal framework which provides that staff members have no legitimate expectation of any renewal of their fixed-term appointments. The UNAT also confirmed that the Tribunals will not interfere with the Organization’s discretion in restructuring decisions, and that the Tribunals have no authority to review General Assembly decisions related to administrative and budgetary matters. In this case, the UNAT held that the...
This application does not meet the requirements of art. 12(3) of the UNDT Statute and art. 30 of the UNDT Rules of Procedure. There is no need to clarify the meaning of Judgment Ocokoru UNDT/2015/004 since it was fully implemented years ago. Furthermore, the grounds submitted by the Applicant as a basis for interpretation have already been clearly and unambiguously determined by this Tribunal previously. Consequently, the Tribunal dismisses the application in its entirety.
The UNAT concluded that the Dispute Tribunal had been guided by the appropriate factors in making its award of compensation in lieu. Specifically, the UNDT had considered the seniority of the staff member, the type of contract he held and the chance of being offered equivalent positions, the reasons for termination, and months of service until retirement age. In light of the UNAT’s deference to the UNDT in such matters, the UNAT found it to be an adventure in futility to re-examine these factors.
The UNAT rejected the Secretary-General’s contention that the length of the Temporary Job...
The Tribunal finds that the Applicant is challenging an administrative decision that is alleged to be in non-compliance with his terms of appointment or his contract of employment and is not challenging the legitimacy of General Assembly resolution 66/234. The application is accordingly receivable.
The General Assembly resolution, Staff Rules, and the ICSC principles and guidelines are clear and unambiguous. These rules stipulate that GS staff wishing to apply for a professional post must first pass the G to P exam unless exceptional approval for a waiver is granted.
Staff at level FS-5 and...
The Secretary-General filed an appeal.
The Appeals Tribunal found that the UNDT exceeded its jurisdiction and erred in law when it interpreted Staff Rule 6(3)(a) as allowing Ms. Barbulescu as a commissioning mother in a surrogacy to be entitled to maternity leave contrary to the clear and unambiguous Staff Regulations and Rules. The UNDT enlarged the scope of Staff Rule 6(3) to an extent that it made a policy decision which is in the purview of the Secretary-General. Further, the Dispute Tribunal erred in making factual findings without evidence.
The Appeals Tribunal however held that the...
The UNAT held that the decision to cancel the appointment process and initiate a new process was one which fell squarely within the discretionary authority of the Administration. Given that a new appointment process had been embarked upon, there was no longer any administrative decision alleged to be in non-compliance with AAP’s terms of appointment or contract of employment. Any dispute concerned with the initial appointment process was moot in the sense that there was no live issue in dispute which required determination by the UNDT. The UNAT held that the UNDT correctly dismissed AAP’s...
The UNAT held that the UNDT erred in holding that the Administration misinterpreted one of the requirements for the position advertised in JO 127555, namely “experience in leading large teams”, as requiring experience of direct supervision of 10 people or more. The UNAT further found that the vacancy announcement allowed for a such contextual interpretation as the literal meaning of “lead” is very general and does not, by itself, allow for an exact comprehension of the intended meaning. Therefore, the UNAT held that it was reasonable for the Administration to interpret the requirement of...
The application was filed without being preceded by a timely filing of a request for management evaluation and the subject matter complained of does not include an administrative decision. The Applicant did not seek management evaluation of the final non-selection decision, which was required to contest it. She only requested management evaluation of the decision not to invite her to a competency-based interview.
The Applicant seeks to contest a preliminary step in a selection process, which can only be challenged in the context of a final selection decision. It is a premature contestation of...
The application is DISMISSED in its entirety.
The UNAT considered an appeal by the staff member.
The UNAT found that the UNDT had not erred in fact when it had not considered separation on retirement, mentioned in the separation notice, to be the reason for the contested decision; the mention of retirement had no import on the staff member’s separation. The UNAT was of the view that the letter informing her of the expiry of her fixed-term appointment was in line with the abolition of the post she encumbered.
The UNAT noted that judicial review in the context of suspension of action is different from the review conducted by the Tribunal...
The UNAT held that the appeal against the two interlocutory Orders became moot following the issuance of Judgment No. UNDT/2022/124 and that the UNDT did not err in delivering its Judgment during the pendency of that appeal. The UNAT nevertheless observed that the UNDT erred in law by imposing an unreasonably short period for compliance with Order No. 157 (NBI/2022). Despite this, the UNAT concluded that, as the proceeding was unreceivable, this finding did not assist the Appellant in his case. With regard to Order No. 158 (NBI/2022), the UNAT held that the UNDT rightfully refused to...
The UNAT considered an appeal by the staff member.
The UNAT found that the staff member did not cite any provision of Article 2(1) of the UNAT Statute and did not indicate whether any errors by the UNRWA DT in his case related to its jurisdiction, the procedure, a question of law or a question of fact. The UNAT held that the appeal was defective and consequently not receivable.
The UNAT, nevertheless, reiterated its jurisprudence on some of the issues raised, and agreed with the way the UNRWA DT had determined the amount of in-lieu compensation. The UNAT also agreed with the UNRWA DT’s...
The UNAT denied the Appellant’s request for an oral hearing, finding that that the issues were well-defined and required no further development through an oral hearing.
The UNAT held that the Appellant’s application for review of the response to his request for management evaluation of his non-selection was not receivable ratione materiae as it did not produce direct legal consequences for him and was, therefore, not a reviewable administrative decision.
The UNAT also found that the Appellant was informed of the outcome of his request for a management evaluation regarding his non-selection...