51ÁÔÆæ

UNAT held that UNDT correctly concluded that the Appellant¡¯s claim was not receivable. UNAT noted that it was evident that the Appellant knew of the process of management evaluation at the time of the impugned administrative decision. UNAT also held that UNDT correctly exercised its discretion to award costs against the Appellant for abuse of the judicial process, as her failure to apply for management evaluation was deliberate and thus her application was frivolous and vexatious. UNAT dismissed the appeal in its entirety and affirmed the UNDT judgment.

The first issue UNAT considered was whether UNDT erred in applying ST/AI/2010/3 to the selection of staff for the G-7 post and UNAT found that UNDT did not err in this regard. UNAT noted that the language of paragraph 14 of the Memorandum of Understanding With Respect to United Nations Personnel Procedures Application to the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund requires that ¡°[t]he General Service staff of the [Pension] Fund secretariat shall be appointed and promoted through the normal [United Nations appointment and promotion] procedures, according to the policies applicable at the duty stations in...

UNAT considered the Commissioner-General¡¯s appeal. UNAT noted that due process required both parties to be given an opportunity to present their case, and not allowing them to do so resulted in a miscarriage of justice. UNAT found that UNRWA DT¡¯s exclusion of the Commissioner-General from participating in the proceedings was a clear violation of due process such as to affect the decision of the case, which must result in the judgment being annulled and the cases remanded for a hearing de novo before a different Judge. UNAT noted it was, thus, not necessary to consider the other grounds of...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General¡¯s appeal and noted that the Secretary-General has broad discretion in matters of staff selection. UNAT found that the extensive correspondence between Mr Bali and management indicated that he was aware that his candidature would be considered along with all other applicants, and that his name was placed on a roster of pre-approved candidates for potential consideration for future job openings with similar functions at the Secretariat. UNAT also noted that Mr Bali was encouraged by the Office of Human Resources Management¡¯s (OHRM) advocacy and information...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General¡¯s appeal regarding whether UNDT erred in ordering both an extension of Mr Sannoh¡¯s appointment and payment of a termination indemnity. UNAT noted that UNMIS Information Circular No. 334 provided that staff with fixed-term appointments that are due to expire shortly will have their appointments extended for one year and, should a staff member¡¯s function no longer be required by the mission prior to the expiration of their fixed-term appointment, a termination indemnity may be payable in accordance with Staff Regulation 9. 3 and Annex III of the Staff Rules...

As a preliminary matter, UNAT dismissed the Appellant¡¯s request for an oral hearing. On the merits, UNAT noted that he argued the same arguments that he put before UNRWA DT. UNAT found that UNRWA DT gave careful and fair consideration to the Appellant¡¯s arguments and weighed them against the facts of the case. UNAT found no fault with UNRWA DT¡¯s decision and held that the Appellant did not demonstrate that UNRWA DT erred in fact or law. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNRWA DT judgment.

UNAT considered the Secretary-General¡¯s appeal and Mr Terragnolo¡¯s cross-appeal, noting that only the compensation awarded by UNDT was being contested. With respect to the Secretary-General¡¯s appeal, UNAT held that the specific remedy of allowing Mr Terragnolo to take the examination was not available and therefore, subsidiary compensation was the appropriate remedy to be ordered. UNAT noted that the impugned judgment followed UNAT¡¯s jurisprudence, but UNDT¡¯s estimation of the loss of chance was absurd or contrary to the evidence and particular circumstances of the case. UNAT held that due...

UNAT considered two appeals by the staff member of UNDT Order Nos. 109 and 110. UNAT held that the appeals were receivable because they were addressed against judicial decisions which disposed the cases before UNDT. Finding that the two appeals raised the same legal issues, UNAT consolidated them in the interest of judicial economy and consistency. UNAT held that there was no merit in the Secretary-General¡¯s observations about the non-receivability of the appeals. UNAT held, however, that the motions for reinstatement were in fact non-receivable ab initio. UNAT held that there was no statutory...

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 an appeal by the staff member and a cross-appeal by the Secretary-General. Regarding the cross-appeal of the Secretary-General on material damages, UNAT held that UNDT was the body best placed to assess a candidate¡¯s chance of selection for placement on the roster. UNAT held that the fact that there were several candidates selected from the roster in the months following the roster approval was sufficient to underpin UNDT¡¯s assessment that the staff member¡¯s chances were not in the realm of the speculative. UNAT held that there was no merit in the Secretary-General¡¯s cross...