51ÁÔÆæ

As a preliminary matter, UNAT rejected an application by the Staff Union of the ICTY for leave to file a friend-of-the court brief under Article 17 of its Rules of Procedure on the scope of review of the Secretary-General¡¯s decision in disciplinary proceedings and the standard of proof in disciplinary proceedings, on the basis that the facts and legal issues were not so complex that the brief would assist it. UNAT held that UNDT, in exercising judicial review, may interfere with the exercise of the Secretary-General¡¯s discretion in disciplinary proceedings against a staff member on the ground...

UNAT observed that the Appellant did not challenge the reasoning of UNDT, but appealed on the ground that the administrative policy in place should be changed because she was promoted but her gross income was reduced. UNAT noted that the Appellant¡¯s pay calculations also took into account other deductions and increases such that her net income increased. UNAT held that the real issue before it was whether UNDT made a reversible error in fact or law such that it must allow the appeal. UNAT noted that the Appellant did not disagree that, on its face, the calculations of her salary were made...

UNAT held that UNDT did not exceed its competence in ordering the payment of interest from the due date of the relocation grant, but that UNDT had erred in setting the interest rate at 8 per cent. UNAT held that both UNDT and UNAT must have the power to award interest in the normal course of ordering compensation. UNAT affirmed the UNDT judgment and Order No. 30 to the extent that UNDT awarded interest on the relocation grant and replaced the interest rate of 8 per cent with the United States prime rate applicable on 4 May 2008 (5 per cent).

UNAT held that the repeated requests by the Appellant to the management over a period of seven years for a correction of his entry-level were mere restatements of the original claim and did not stop the deadline for contesting the decision from running. UNAT held that UNDT did not have the power to waive or suspend the deadline for requesting administrative review under the old internal justice system (Costa (2010-UNAT-036)). UNAT held that UNDT erred in law in applying the decision in Rosca (UNDT/2009/052), which was disproved by UNAT in Costa, but that the error did not affect the outcome...

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...

The Secretary-General filed appeals against UNDT Orders. UNAT determined that, generally, only appeals against final judgments are receivable. UNAT noted that an interlocutory appeal is receivable exceptionally in cases where UNDT has clearly exceeded its jurisdiction or competence. UNAT held that it would not interfere lightly with the broad discretion of UNDT in the management of cases. Further, UNAT noted that one of the goals of the new system of administration of justice is rendering timely judgments; cases before UNDT could seldom proceed if either party were able to appeal interlocutory...

UNAT held that it was open to UNDT to consider the preliminary issue of whether the Appellant had legal standing even to challenge the administrative decision not to advertise the vacancies. UNAT held there was no error in the UNDT¡¯s decision that the Appellant was not entitled to contest the administrative decision since he was not an eligible candidate for any of the vacant posts. UNAT held that the Appellant had no stake in the administrative decision as his rights and terms were not affected by the fact that the posts were not advertised. UNAT held that the appeal failed on the ground that...

UNAT held that none of the reasons for the delay asserted by the Appellant justified a 17-month late appeal. UNAT held that it would consider only the time issues because the case was so clearly out of time. UNAT held that any alleged error by UNDT in considering the merits was moot. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT judgment.

UNAT held that the UNDT¡¯s judgment in Rosca was no longer good law, having been overruled by UNAT in Costa. UNAT held that time limits prescribed for administrative review and management evaluation (in the new system) could not be waived under Article 8(3) of the UNDT Statute, due to a specific prohibition in this respect contained in Article 8(4) of the UNDT Statute, as interpreted by UNDT in Costa and affirmed by UNAT. UNAT held that the application was time-barred and the delay in filing could not be condoned. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT judgment.

UNAT held that there was no dispute that the Appellant had a fixed-term appointment, which had no expectancy of renewal or of conversion to any other type of appointment. UNAT held that UNDT had correctly dismissed most of the allegations brought by the Appellant since he had failed to raise them in a request for administrative review or management evaluation. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT judgment.