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UNDT/2014/114, Tredici, Gueben, Lamb, Lobwein, Matar, Pastore Stocchi, Rexhepi, and Vano
The Tribunal finds that the pertinent facts and the legal issues in the present cases are on all fours as those of the ICTY cases. As both parties have accepted the ratio decidendi of the decisions by the UNAT in the ICTY cases, the Tribunal adopts the Appeals Tribunal’s findings in Malmstr?m 2013-UNAT-357 and remands the UNAKRT conversion exercise to the ASG/OHRM for retroactive consideration of the suitability of each applicant within 90 days of the date of publication of this judgment in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Appeals Tribunal in the matter of Malmstr?m. Taking into...
UNDT/2014/113, Birya
The ST/SGB/2008/5 requirement for the administration to act promptly on complaints of prohibited activity was not observed in the case of the Applicant’s complaint. UNDT required more information on the present state of the process and held that this case was suitable to remand for institution or correction of the required procedure. UNDT suspended the proceedings and orderd the Secretary-General to advise UNDT of the present position of the investivgation into the Applicant’s complaint and whether he concurs with the remand of the case for institution and correction of the procedure under ST...
UNDT/2014/111, Bello
The Tribunal decided, by way of summary judgment, that it was not competent to examine the application, since the Applicant did not contest an administrative decision taken by the Secretary-General as the Chief Administrative Officer of the United Nations and since the IMO is not one of the organizations or entities with which a special agreement has been concluded under the terms of art. 2.5 of the Tribunal’s Statute. C
UNDT/2014/112, Couquet
The Tribunal rescinded the decision finding that, in accordance with the plain meaning of ST/AI/2007/3, service with the United Nations Organization does not need to be continuous for a staff member to be eligible to receive ASHI. Staff Rule 4.17 is not applicable to the question of ASHI.
UNDT/2014/110, Weerasooriya
The Tribunal found that the Administration violated the rights of the Applicant by not including the PAD cycle year 2009 when making the termination decision in July 2010. The Tribunal ordered the rescission of the contested decision and compensation for material damage equivalent to the loss of salary until her early retirement date on 1 May 2011. When terminating a contract for unsatisfactory service, the PAD reports to be taken into consideration must be the ones immediately preceding the non-renewal decision, so the PAD cycle years 2007, 2008, and 2009 for a termination decision made in...
UNDT/2014/109, Harrich
The application was dismissed in its entirety. The Tribunal also found that the Applicant has manifestly abused the proceedings before it. The Applicant was ordered to pay costs in the sum of USD 2,000 for abuse of process. On receivability: The Tribunal found that the PDF version of the application attached to the email of 15 September 2012, also copied to OHRM and EO/OCHA, met the requirements of art. 8 of the Rules of Procedure of the Dispute Tribunal. It was moreover identical to the application filed through the e-filing portal on 15 October 2012. The Respondent’s contention that the...
2013-UNAT-324, El-Komy
UNAT held that the exclusion of the right to appeal a decision to suspend the execution of an administrative decision constitutes an exception to the general principle of the right to appeal and must, therefore, be narrowly interpreted; UNAT held that the exception applied only to jurisdictional decisions ordering the suspension of an administrative decision pending management evaluation. UNAT held that no jurisdictional decision, which, as in matter before it, ordered the suspension of a contested administrative decision for a period beyond the date on which the management evaluation was...
UNDT/2014/108, Hajdari
The Tribunal found that the decision regarding the Applicant’s reinstatement has a crucial impact on the case because had his request to be reinstated be considered positively, his service with the Organization would have been considered continuous. The Tribunal ordered the Administration to decide on the request for reinstatement after a policy including the conditions for reinstatement is promulgated and to review, afterward, the decision to consider the Applicant ineligible for consideration for conversion to a permanent appointment. The Tribunal remanded the contested decision to the...
UNDT/2014/107, Terragnolo
The application was rejected and the Applicant was ordered to pay costs in the sum of USD 1,500 for abuse of process. On receivability: The absence of a response by the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), during a delay of ten working days between the Applicant’s request on 14 March 2014 to carry out an investigation and his request for management evaluation on 28 March 2014, could not reasonably and sensibly be considered as an implied unilateral decision. It could also not be construed as a failure to act promptly in accordance with ST/SGB/2008/5. There is no appealable...
UNDT/2014/106, Baidya
The Tribunal finds that the Applicant failed to declare the existence of his friendship with the selected candidate, including in response to a direct inquiry prior to the completion of the selection process and during the disciplinary process, and that his actions affected the impartiality and fairness of the selection process and the trust vested in him. The Applicant’s due process rights were respected during each phase of the disciplinary process and the sanction imposed was proportional to the misconduct. The application is therefore rejected. The Applicant did not demonstrate that there...
UNDT/2014/105, Saffir
The Tribunal found that the Applicant’s claims of moral damage are receivable and well founded and he is awarded USD1,000 as compensation for anxiety. The Tribunal finds that it is incorrect to characterize the decision to hire new staff members as being purely preparatory in nature as the contested decision was in fact implemented and the outcome of the selection process could have adversely affected the Applicant. It is therefore a contestable administrative decision. Further, even if a decision is rescinded, if an applicant can show that there was a causal link between the breach on the...
UNDT/2014/104, Smoljan
The Applicant claimed that the Administration had implicitly accepted that he was suitable as he had not been excluded from the process at the stage when suitability was discussed. Hence, and given that the applicable UNHCR recruitment rules provide for priority consideration of internal candidates, no external candidates should have been even considered. The Tribunal concluded that the Applicant did not meet the minimum educational requirements nor the required professional experience for the post; as such, he was not eligible and, thus, not suitable for the post. Despite him being an...
UNDT/2014/103, Kifle
Management evaluation: The Tribunal held that the Applicant nullified his request for management evaluation by asking the Management Evaluation Unit (MEU) to put his request on hold indefinitely and by not seeking reinstatement of said request later on. Administrative decision: The Tribunal concluded that although the Applicant filed a management evaluation request, there was no administrative decision within the meaning of article 2.1 of the UNDT Statute outstanding when this request was filed because his fixed term appointment had been extended to 30 June 2012.
UNDT/2014/102, Flaetgen
The UNDT found that the contested decisions were lawful and that there was no evidence to support the claim that these decisions were motivated by ill will. The Tribunal also expressed its concern at the huge volume of unnecessary as well as irrelevant material that had been filed by the Applicant thereby imposing an onerous burden on the Tribunal at the expense of other cases awaiting a judicial determination.
The Tribunal noted an indication of favouritism towards a particular candidate and a desire to appease the staff council neither of which are consistent with the standard of conduct...
UNDT/2014/099, Smith
What the Applicant is seeking to challenge is the Secretary-General’s implementation of General Assembly resolution 65/248, which led to the discontinuation of payment of the MSA. The new conditions of service that discontinues the application of the temporary assignment to a non-family duty station as of 1 October 2011, is not an emanation of the Secretary General’s discretion. This General Assembly decision was binding on the Secretary-General, and its implementation affected staff across the Organization. This matter is materially outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
UNDT/2014/100, Keegan
What the Applicant is seeking to challenge is the Secretary-General’s implementation of General Assembly resolution 65/248, which led to the discontinuation of payment of the MSA. The new conditions of service that discontinues the application of the temporary assignment to a non-family duty station as of 1 October 2011, is not an emanation of the Secretary General’s discretion. This General Assembly decision was binding on the Secretary-General, and its implementation affected staff across the Organization. This matter is materially outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
UNDT/2014/101, Dagadu
What the Applicant is seeking to challenge is the Secretary-General’s implementation of General Assembly resolution 65/248, which led to the discontinuation of payment of the MSA. The new conditions of service that discontinues the application of the temporary assignment to a non-family duty station as of 1 October 2011, is not an emanation of the Secretary General’s discretion. This General Assembly decision was binding on the Secretary-General, and its implementation affected staff across the Organization. This matter is materially outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
UNDT/2014/098, Reid
The Tribunal found that the Application is not receivable and dismissed it. Receivability - The Tribunal accepted that the extended use of the temporary appointments was the reason for the disparity in the amount of assignment grant that the Applicant was entitled to and that this negatively affected the Applicant. However, in this Application the Applicant was effectively asking the Tribunal to find that the Rules on assignment grants for staff members on temporary appointments are unlawful. Those rules were based on resolutions of the General Assembly. Pursuant to art. 2 of the UNDT Statute...
UNDT/2014/096, Reid
Receivability - The Tribunal accepted that the extended use of the temporary appointments was the reason for the disparity in the amount of relocation grant that the Applicant was entitled to and that this negatively affected the Applicant. This however was the subject of a settlement agreement between the parties. Further, in this Application the Applicant was effectively asking the Tribunal to find that the Rules on relocation grant for temporary employees are unlawful. Those rules were based on resolutions of the General Assembly. Pursuant to art. 2 of the UNDT Statute the Tribunal’s...
UNDT/2014/097, Reid
Receivability - The Tribunal accepted that the extended use of the temporary appointments was the reason for the disparity in the amount of relocation grant that the Applicant was entitled to and that this negatively affected the Applicant. This however was the subject of a settlement agreement between the parties. Further, in this Application the Applicant was effectively asking the Tribunal to find that the Rules on relocation grant for temporary employees are unlawful. Those rules were based on resolutions of the General Assembly. Pursuant to art. 2 of the UNDT Statute the Tribunal’s...