51ÁÔÆæ

The Tribunal concluded that: (a) the selection process for the post of D/ACGSD was not handled correctly and lawfully due to apparent bias on the part of the ASP and that he suffered prejudice/damage as a result; and (b) the Applicant was not the victim of harassment and discrimination in relation to this case. Bias: The Tribunal held that the test for apparent bias is whether the fair-minded observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the Interview Panel was biased. The Tribunal concluded that the Advisory Selection Panel (ASP) in the present...

The Tribunal noted that for an application to be receivable, the decision that is being challenged has to be an ¡°administrative decision¡± under the provisions of the Tribunal¡¯s Statute. In the present case, the abolition of the post at stake had not yet been formally approved by the United Nations General Assembly. The Tribunal found that the mere proposal to abolish a post does not constitute an ¡°administrative decision¡±, because it does not produce ¡°direct legal consequences¡±. Therefore, and since the Applicant did not challenge an administrative decision, the Tribunal decided that her...

The Respondent objected to the receivability of the application. The UNDT found the case receivable and directed the parties to attempt informal resolution of the matter.

The Tribunal finds, inter alia, that the Applicant¡¯s act of altering the number of hours he had worked without the authorization of his first reporting officer amounted to inexcusable alteration of official documents and material misrepresentation of facts. The principle of proportionality means that an administrative action should not be more excessive than is necessary for obtaining the desired result. The requirement of proportionality is satisfied if a course of action is reasonable, but not if the course of action is found to be excessive.

Legitimate expectation: While a legitimate expectation can be created by an express promise on the part of the Organization, the Tribunal held that a promise can also be implied from the particular circumstances of a case or from what is held out to an individual. The Tribunal concluded that the Applicant did not have a legitimate expectation of renewal. Performance appraisal: When a staff member is given a rating indicating that he/she meets most expectations but that there is room for improvement, there is an implicit undertaking by the Administration that the staff member will be allowed to...

Legitimate expectation: The Tribunal held that while a legitimate expectation can be created by an express promise on the part of the Organization, given the special nature of fixed-term contracts within the Organization an expectation of contract renewal may also be based on the surrounding circumstances, including the practices of the Organization. In view of the foregoing, the Tribunal concluded that since there was a practice of renewing the Applicant¡¯s fixed-term appointment, he was entitled to expect its continued renewal unless there was a legitimate reason for not renewing the...

The Tribunal ordered rescission of the administrative decision to separate the Applicant from service. The Tribunal awarded the Applicant compensation for the substantive and procedural irregularities occasioned him by the failure of the Administration to follow its own guidelines, rules and procedures. Ultra vires - It was not within the competence of the Mission Leadership Team of UNMISS to leave its role of implementing the new mission¡¯s mandate in order to dabble into matters of human resource management and the transitioning and de-transitioning of staff from the old mission to the new...

The Tribunal did not find any exceptional circumstances, and found that the application was not receivable, ratione temporis.

The Applicant alleged that the selection exercise was procedurally flawed and biased against him. The UNDT found that the candidates¡¯ answers on the written tests were marked by an assessor who did not know the identities of the candidates. The UNDT found that the Applicant was not prejudiced by the manner in which the test was carried out. The UNDT found the Applicant¡¯s claims unsubstantiated and dismissed the application.

She alleged that the Administration advised her wrongly to resign from her 100-series fixed-term appointment (FTA) with UNDP, Kosovo, in 2007, when she was offered a FTA with UNV, Bonn, and argued that her resignation cannot be taken into account when assessing her eligibility for consideration for conversion, namely the requirement of 5-year continuous service. Following requests for additional information, the Tribunal found that the Administration put the Applicant into an illegal situation when she was first offered a 300-series appointment of limited duration with UNV, Bonn, while she...