A review of other similar cases revealed that only one other staff member was separated for illegal possession/use of drugs, and that was a far more serious case. The sanction in the present case was disproportionate in the light of the comparators. UNDT endorsed Sow. Equality of treatment in the workplace is a core principle which must be applied by the Secretary-General when imposing disciplinary sanctions.
Not only did Counsel for the Respondent initially refuse to take part in the proceedings because submissions were being filed and submitted through the eFiling portal, she further failed 51猎奇 the Tribunal’s Order granting her an extension of 30 days. This failure, in the circumstances is an abuse of the process of the Tribunal. The Tribunal is entitled to enter, on its own Motion, a default judgment in this case. This means that in the present case, the Tribunal shall rely on the facts as presented by the Applicant and apply the relevant law to these facts. Upon his separation from...
Suspension of selection process: In view of the broad discretionary authority of the Secretary- General in the organization of services, he may at any time before a candidate has been notified of his/her selection, suspend a selection process. However, he must have a legitimate ground to do so.30-day and 60-day candidates: Pursuant to ST/AI/2006/3, 30-day candidates must be considered before 60-day candidates.Cancellation of a vacancy announcement: The Administration has the obligation to put an end to a selection process vitiated by irregularities. However, it commits a fault for which it...
.Outcome: The Respondent is to pay to the Applicant USD10,000 in compensation for emotional harm.
The Tribunal held that whether an Applicant should be given reasons for the non-renewal of his or her fixed-term contract, even though fixed-term contracts carry no expectation of renewal, should be analyzed on a case by case basis. The Tribunal cited Obdeijn UNDT/2011/032 which stated that “even though a staff member does not have a right to an automatic renewal of a fixed-term contract, a decision not to renew such a contract may not be taken for improper motives, and the Tribunal is required to consider whether the motives were proper or whether countervailing circumstances existed in the...
The Tribunal rejects the Applicant’s request for a joinder of both cases and it dismisses this case as moot.
Calculation of compensation. The Tribunal will determine the amount of income the Applicant is likely to have earned but for the impugned decision (pecuniary damages) and the extent of the non-pecuniary harm caused to by the decision to terminate her. Pecuniary damages. It is necessary to consider her fitness to return to work; the likely duration of the contract she could reasonably have expected to have been given; and the amount of work she would likely have been able to perform in view of her disability during the hypothetical contract period. Duration of a hypothetical contract period. It...
Jurisdiction: The Tribunal is not competent to examine the lawfulness of a decision made by ECOWAS.
Fixed-term appointments of short and long duration: The distinction made by UNHCR between fixed-term appointments of long duration—i.e., fixed-term appointments of one year or more granted further to a competitive selection process, based on the advice of an Appointments, Postings and Promotions body—and fixed-term appointments of short duration—i.e., fixed-term appointments of less than a year granted without a competitive selection process and not endorsed by an Appointments, Postings and Promotions body—has its legal foundation in staff regulation 4.3 and staff rule 4.15 (and former staff...
Outcome: For Applicant (relief to follow).
