51ÁÔÆæ

UNAT held that the Appellant was not given an opportunity to call witnesses at trial and prior to that was not able to discuss with his supervisor the reason for his transfer. UNAT held that the appeal was receivable because UNDT had committed an error in procedure, such as to affect the decision of the case when it limited the evidence. UNAT held that due process required that a staff member must know the reasons for a decision so that he or she can act on it and the complainant was left in an unfair position in terms of attempts to resolve the dispute when deprived of the opportunity to...

UNAT rejected the Appellant¡¯s request to have all appeal-related documents removed from her UNRWA official service file. UNAT held that UNRWA DT did not err in finding no irregularity in the decision-making process under judicial review and consequently dismissing the application. UNAT held that the Appellant had to persuade it that there were flaws in the contested administrative decision not to renew her fixed-term appointment, the proceedings that led to it, or in the UNRWA DT¡¯s judgment, which would warrant vacating the judgment. UNAT held that the Appellant had not raised new arguments...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that UNDT had erred in deciding that the non-renewal of the staff member¡¯s contract was unlawful. UNAT held that the staff member was aware that a high school diploma was an essential qualification. UNAT held that his contract was conditional upon him producing proof of this qualification. UNAT noted that the staff member was also aware that the consequence of failing to satisfy this requirement was the non-renewal of his contract. UNAT agreed with the Secretary-General¡¯s submission that the decision not to renew was neither...

UNAT considered the receivability of the issue of non-renewal and whether UNDT erred in rejecting the Appellant¡¯s claim that his candidacy for the relevant post had not been given full and fair consideration. UNAT referenced Staff Rule 11. 2(a), which provides that it is an established principle that a request for management evaluation is the first step in the appeal process of an administrative decision. UNAT further noted that UNDT has the inherent power to individualize and define the administrative decision challenged by a party and to identify the subject(s) of review. UNAT found no fault...

The Secretary-General appealed the UNDT judgment as it related to the non-renewal decision only. UNAT held that a shifting onus of proof was appropriate where the non-renewal decision was based on a lack of funds. UNAT found nothing objectionable with the UNDT¡¯s reference to the burden or onus of proof resting with the Secretary-General in the circumstances of the case. UNAT held that UNDT did not err in concluding that the Secretary-General failed to establish by evidence that the financial situation of the UN body which had engaged Ms Loose at the time of the separation was still...

The Secretary-General appealed UNDT¡¯s finding that the contested decisions to abolish Ms Nouinou¡¯s post, the consequent decision not to renew her two-year fixed-term appointment, and the refusal to re-assign her for two months under a zero-dollar incumbency, where she had been selected for a short-term position, were unlawful. UNAT held that UNDT made a grave error in law in terms of the basic legal position, which defined the subject of the litigation before it and the appeal. UNAT held that there was no administrative decision to terminate Ms Nouinou¡¯s contract prior to its expiration and...

UNDT held that the Applicant had not met the evidentiary burden of showing that the Administration made an express and firm commitment in writing to extend his appointment and that conversely, the evidence showed that, in accordance with its Transition Plan, the Mission had no intention of maintaining the Applicant¡¯s post and proceeded with the downsizing. UNDT held that the Report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions did not require UNOCI to renew the Applicant¡¯s appointment, neither did it alter UNOCI¡¯s obligation to implement the phased drawdown in accordance...

The Tribunal found that the Applicant had not satisfied his burden of proof to show through clear and convincing evidence that his separation was unfair and that the Administration did not violate any term of the Applicant¡¯s contract of employment. The Applicant challenged the fact that he was separated on ground of retrenchment before the General Assembly had approved the Budget to abolish his post. The record showed that this issue was already adjudicated upon in favour of the Applicant under Order No. 086 (NBI/2019). In accordance with the Tribunal¡¯s earlier final finding on the matter, it...