51ÁÔÆæ

The UNAT held that, while there was a lack of adequate reasons for declining to open investigations into misconduct allegations raised by the former staff member, his reports concerned ordinary administrative matters that were of themselves likely not misconduct and certainly not serious misconduct.The UNAT further found that the UNDT correctly concluded that the former staff member did not provide evidence demonstrating ill motivation on the part of the alleged perpetrators. Accordingly, applying the ¡°no difference principle¡±, the UNAT found that the lack of adequate reasons for declining...

The Appeals Tribunal held that the UNDT correctly found that the decision to recover a portion of Mr. Kulga¡¯s Home Leave lump sum was lawful.

As to the costs awarded against Mr. Kulga, the Appeals Tribunal found that the UNDT erred in finding Mr. Kulga¡¯s application to be frivolous as it was not unreasonable for Mr. Kulga to consider that a further challenge to the UNDT could assist him, especially after his management evaluation challenge had been partially successful. In addition, the UNDT¡¯s finding that Mr. Kulga repeatedly lied to the Administration over six months in seeking to obtain...

The UNAT noted that in his application, the staff member had clearly identified the contested decision as the Pension Fund¡¯s email which informed him that his pension benefits had already been paid and there were no further entitlements.

The UNAT noted that he had not requested a review of the decision or filed an appeal to the Standing Committee of the Pension Board but rather had filed a request for management evaluation and then appealed to the Dispute Tribunal. The UNAT held that, as such, he had not followed proper procedure under the rules of the Pension Fund.

The UNAT concluded that the...

The UNAT noted that the staff member had requested management evaluation 64 days after he was informed of the contested decision.

The UNAT found no merit in the staff member¡¯s arguments that the delay in requesting management evaluation had been minimal or that his permanent incapacity constituted a force majeure which the UNDT was obliged to consider.

The UNAT found no error in the UNDT finding the application not receivable ratione materiae.

The UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT Judgment.

The UNAT found that Mr. Flekal, by consenting to the referral of the harassment claim on 3 March 2024, for managerial action, had essentially waived the right to pursue a remedy before the Tribunals for the lack of an investigation into his complaints of harassment, including bullying. The UNAT noted that under the relevant technical instruction of the Department of Internal Oversight Services, bullying is not a separate category of misconduct, it is considered a kind of harassment.

The UNAT noted that Mr. Flekal had also waived his ¡°abuse of power¡± claim because it was not pled in his...

The UNAT noted that the decision to place Mr. Flekal on an OTI process is only an intermediate step in the performance management process and has had no direct impact or adverse consequence on his terms of appointment or the contract of employment and therefore is not an administrative decision subject to judicial review.

The UNAT found that Mr. Flekal was separated for medical reasons, declared incapacitated and awarded a disability pension. He was not separated from the Agency due to non-renewal of his fixed-term appointment. Therefore, Mr. Flekal¡¯s challenge of the 29 August 2023 decision...

The UNAT found that the neutral first instance process established by the IMO, i.e., the SAB, was properly constituted and met the requirements of Article 2(10) of the UNAT Statute. The UNAT rejected the argument that the SAB lacked neutrality. The UNAT also found that the SAB produced a sufficient written record of its Decision.

The UNAT found that the SAB acted within the bounds of its jurisdiction and competence when it reviewed the decision of the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the ABCC. The SAB had close regard to the fact that the ABCC reached its determination on the medical...

The UNAT held that any dissatisfaction with the meaning of a judgment should be raised in an appeal of the substantive judgment. Mr. Odat did not appeal the underlying judgment, Judgment No. UNRWA/DT/2025/001.

The UNAT found that the UNRWA DT¡¯s subsequent judgment on his application for interpretation was not a fresh judgment within the scope of Article 2 of the Appeals Tribunal Statute, and thus Mr. Odat¡¯s appeal was not receivable.

The UNAT held that the former staff member did not request an oral hearing during proceedings before the UNDT and thus cannot be allowed to do so on appeal. The UNDT as the trier of fact cannot be bypassed.

The UNAT found no error in the UNDT¡¯s finding that the former staff member¡¯s post-separation grievances were beyond its scope of adjudication and not receivable because there was no prior and timely request for management evaluation. The sanction for non-compliance with this mandatory internal procedure is the non-receivability of the application challenging the contested decision.

The...

The UNAT held that the UNDT did not err in finding that the former staff member¡¯s application was not receivable.

Regarding the former staff member¡¯s claims concerning the alleged theft of her wages, the alleged lack of a legal basis for the recovery of her final pay, and the alleged illegal withholding of her final pay, the UNAT found that these claims were not receivable ratione materiae, because she failed to request management evaluation of the contested decisions within the statutory time limit.In this regard, the UNAT further held that her ignorance or misunderstanding of the law...