51ÁÔÆæ

UNAT held that the UNDT erred both in not permitting the Appellant to call a witness (AA) and in the incorrect conclusions it drew from her hearsay evidence. UNAT held that, to the extent that BB (a non-UN staff member) was a witness adverse to the Appellant, the failure of the Secretary-General to secure her attendance before the UNDT permitted an adverse inference which detracted considerably from the credibility and reliability of her allegations in the OIOS investigation report. UNAT held that little weight could be attached to the evidence of two unidentified UN staff members, to whom the...

Mr. Kuate appealed. UNAT dismissed Mr. Kuate's contention that there was no basis until 1 April 2019, date of the final divorce decision, for the recovery of the allowances on grounds that the Cameroonian judgments were not final until that date. UNAT found that Order No. 791 contained an enforceability clause and therefore the measures provided in that order went into force with immediate effect. Consequently, Mr. Kuate and his wife legally separated on 26 November 2015 when the order was issued. Also, on the basis of this order, from this day on Mr. Kuate had legal custody for (only) two of...

The Secretary-General filed an appeal. UNAT granted the appeal and vacated the UNDT Judgment. UNAT held that while the determination of which staff members should be compared is ¡°primarily guided by the functional title as per the staff member¡¯s letter of appointment¡±, there can be cases where the functional title does not reflect the actual functions performed as in the present case. In these circumstances, the CHRO must determine which individual falls into which occupational group. Ms. Barud¡¯s role and functions changed in May 2018 to a Facilities Management Assistant. Therefore, at the...

UNAT held that the decision of UNDT that the application in relation to the non-renewal decision was moot because the non-renewal decision never materialised was correct. UNAT held that the non-renewal decision was overtaken by the Appellant¡¯s separation for health reasons and that the Appellant had not challenged the actual decision that ultimately resulted in the termination of her employment. UNAT held that UNDT had no obligation to consider the merits of the superseded decision once it correctly found that the application was moot. UNAT held that UNDT did not err in finding that the...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that UNDT erred in law in finding that the Administration was not legally allowed to consider seniority or career advancement in the selection process. UNAT held that it was entirely proper to make a choice between two recommended candidates based partly on their respective seniority and time already served at a particular grade. UNAT held that UNDT also erred in essentially reversing the burden of proof by requiring the Secretary-General to show that the factors considered were explicitly provided for in the legal framework rather...

Ms. Reilly filed an application for correction. UNAT found that her application was in substance both an application for correction and revision. UNAT dismissed the application. UNAT held that the corrections sought were of no material relevance to the outcome and reasoning of the judgment. With respect to one correction sought, UNAT noted that the Secretary-General conceded that he had furnished the Appeals Tribunal with incorrect information - Ms. Reilly was on special leave with pay for four rather than six days in October 2019. UNAT, however, found that that was not a decisive fact, as it...

UNAT granted the appeal in part. UNAT held that UNDT erred by failing to implement its mandatory obligation to award an amount of compensation in lieu of rescission. UNAT held that there was no error in the UNDT¡¯s finding that the Appellant had not discharged his burden of proof that the contested decision caused a loss of income due to loss of career opportunity. UNAT held that the Appellant did not discharge his onus to show that UNDT erred as the first instance trier of fact with regard to the issue of moral damages, and therefore accepted the UNDT¡¯s findings on compensation for moral...

In this case, the Administration initially decided that the Applicant was eligible for a prorated amount of lump-sum boarding allowance, but during the management evaluation process, the Administration found the previous decision erroneous and decided that the Applicant was in fact not entitled to any boarding allowance. Therefore, the decision subject to judicial review in this case is the Administration¡¯s decision to find him ineligible for any boarding allowance. It is clear that under staff regulation 3.2 and Appendix B to the Staff Regulations and Rules, eligible staff members are only...

UNAT held that UNDT adequately applied the appropriate principles set out in the former UN Administrative Tribunal judgment No. 1391 (2008) in considering whether or not a case of serious misconduct had been established and if so, whether the sanction of summary dismissal was appropriate. UNAT held that the fact that the Appellant accepted lavish hospitality was a clear violation of the Procurement Division¡¯s Guidelines on Acceptance of Gifts and Hospitality by the Procurement Division Staff. Although the misconduct was based on a single incident, UNAT agreed with UNDT that it would have been...

UNAT noted that the parties freely made an agreement, the Appellant received benefits under it and then she sought additional benefits on the basis that she had not received proper notice. UNAT noted that, as UNDT found, the Appellant received notice of her termination date when she signed the MOU, some four months prior. UNAT held that the fact that a formal letter was received later neither abrogated the MOU nor gave rise to any further compensation. UNAT found no error in the UNDT judgment. UNAT held that UNDT correctly determined that the Appellant was not entitled to compensation in lieu...