51ÁÔÆæ

UNAT held that the Standing Committee did not err in holding the application was not receivable ratione temporis. UNAT noted that, in refusing to receive the application, the Standing Committee also implicitly refused to find ¡°good cause¡± to waive the sixty days¡¯ time limit for review set forth in Section K of the UNJSPF Administrative Rules. UNAT also found no error in this implicit determination and held that a waiver of five years for review by the Standing Committee would be unreasonable, especially in light of the time limits in the Transfer Agreement between UNJSPF and CTBTO. UNAT...

UNAT held that the decision of the UNJSPB not to submit the staff member¡¯s appeal to the Standing Committee contravened his rights under the UNJSPF Regulations by depriving him of access to the appeals process and was a serious violation of his due process rights. Noting that UNAT¡¯s jurisdiction was limited to hearing appeals of decisions of the Standing Committee and that the staff member¡¯s case had not been reviewed by the Standing Committee, UNAT held that it had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal and remanded it to the Standing Committee.

UNAT held that the staff member¡¯s retirement benefit from the UNJSPF including the monthly periodic pension benefit was not subject to taxation and/or payment of statutory deductions and that therefore, any challenge with respect to the application and meaning of the words ¡°gross¡± and ¡°net¡± was merely semantic. UNAT held that the ASHI premium was a voluntary payment that was deducted by the UNJSPF at the behest of a beneficiary and therefore could not be treated as or deemed to be a statutory deduction. UNAT dismissed the appeal.

UNAT held that the Standing Committee correctly determined that the applicable rules provide that the pension participant is required to inform UNJPSF in writing of the benefit election made and of any commutation elected and that there was no provision for third party advisement. UNAT held that the Standing Committee¡¯s reliance on Article 30(b) of the UNJSPF Regulations as a rationale for its finding that a deferred retirement benefit became payable to Ms. Assebe upon her separation from service was flawed on the basis that she did not elect for a deferred retirement benefit. UNAT held that...

UNAT held that there was no reason to depart from its prior analysis that the UNJSPF was not part of the Secretariat and neither the Secretary-General nor the executive head of any other member organisation, has authority over the management of UNJSPF or the independence of the Chief Executive Officer of UNJSPF in the administration of its staff. UNAT held that the Secretary-General had no power to interfere or intervene in the election of members to the UNJSPF¡¯s staff pension committees; those elections were governed exclusively by UNJSPF Regulations. UNAT held that there was no error in UNDT...

UNAT held that the appeal concerned the interpretation of Article 35 of the UNJSPF Regulations. UNAT found that the Appellant wanted the Standing Committee to accept the period of contributory service with the Fund in order to calculate his own benefit but to take into account a different period vis-¨¤-vis his former spouse. UNAT held that Articles 35bis and 22 of the UNJSPF Regulations were clear and that it could not distinguish where the text was clear. UNAT held that the same date would apply to the calculation of the Appellant¡¯s benefits and the determination of whether his former spouse...

UNAT agreed that Article 24(a) UNJSPF Regulations does not provide a right to restore prior contributory service to participants who, on or after 1 April 2007, had elected to receive a deferred retirement benefit. UNAT held that the Appellant fell into this category. The appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the Standing Committee was affirmed.

UNAT considered that at the time of the elections, there was no law that prevented the staff members from being elected to the UNSPC once they met the prerequisites for election, which they did. UNAT held that both staff members were duly elected members of the UNSPC and that as a direct consequence of their election, they had the same rights and privileges as other elected members, and which could not be restricted or denied. UNAT granted the appeals and ordered that the staff members be given access to all relevant Pension Board documents and be allowed to participate and function as elected...

UNAT held that the Applicant was not entitled to a widow¡¯s benefit under Article 34 of the UNJPSF Regulations as she married Mr Williams, her deceased husband, after his separation from service. UNAT noted that, under Article 35ter of the UNJSPF Regulations, the survivor¡¯s benefit had to be purchased by a retiree who marries after separation from service as an annuity within a prescribed one-year deadline after the date of the marriage. UNAT noted that Mr Williams had elected not to do so. UNAT held that there was no obligation for UNJSPF to inform Mr Williams of the option. UNAT held that...

UNAT rejected the Appellant¡¯s motion for leave to file additional pleadings on the basis that the Appellant had not demonstrated any exceptional circumstances. UNAT decided to strike out the Appellant¡¯s additional submission and not to take it into consideration. UNAT found no fault in the UNJSPF Standing Committee¡¯s decision which was in full accord with the UNJSPF Regulations. UNAT held that the Appellant was neither entitled to an increase in his pension benefit nor to a retroactive payment for the period of his reemployment as there is no legal basis for retroactive payment of these...