51ÁÔÆæ

The Tribunal examined the alleged procedural errors in the appointment of the investigation panel and the conduct of its investigation, before turning to examine the alleged errors in the making of the contested decision itself. Appointment of the panel The Tribunal found that the panel, appointed by a responsible official (the then Executive Director OAJ) who had a conflict of interest, was not constituted in accordance with sec. 5.14 of ST/SGB/2008/5. It was illegal and void ab initio. A decision maker cannot, knowing the basis of a request for recusal, take important steps in a process such...

The Tribunal noted that art. 12.3 of its Statute and art. 30 of its Rules of Procedure limit the scope of applications for interpretation to judgments. Neither the Tribunal¡¯s Statute nor its Rules of Procedure contemplate applications for interpretation with respect to orders. The Tribunal therefore found that the present application was not receivable ratione materiae.

It was not disputed that the procedural flaws identified by Judgment Rodriguez-Viquez UNDT/2016/030 in respect of the Second Round of the 2013 Promotions Session for candidates for promotion to the P-5 level also vitiated the consideration of candidates to the D-1 level and thus impacted on the Applicant¡¯s chances to be promoted. The Tribunal noted that it was difficult to ascertain the chances that the Applicant had to be promoted but it was uncontested that they were significant. The Tribunal thus rescinded the contested decision. The Tribunal referred to Rodriguez-Viquez whereby the...

The decision did not adversely affect the Applicant The Tribunal referred to its judgment Featherstone UNDT/2015/117 whereby, inter alia, the decision denying the Applicant a conversion of her fixed-term appointment to a permanent appointment was rescinded and the case was remanded to the ASG/OHRM for retroactive individualized consideration of the Applicant¡¯s suitability for conversion of her appointment to a permanent one as mandated by ST/SGB/2009/10. The Tribunal was satisfied that by the decision of 17 November 2016 (the contested decision), the Organization complied with the terms of...

The contested decision was imposed on the Applicant after finding that there was clear and convincing evidence that the Applicant threatened to kill other staff members in the Afghanistan Country Office. The crux of the Applicant¡¯s case was that the facts were not established through clear and convincing evidence as the witnesses present during the alleged threats provided inconsistent testimonies, and the evidence was not properly collected and, consequently, was unreliable. Whether the investigation was vitiated by procedural flaws Having reviewed the whole investigation file, which was not...

The present case concerned the reimbursement of medical expenses incurred by a locally recruited staff member outside his duty station while travelling on private business. As the conditions for reimbursement and the extent of the coverage are detailed in the Medical Insurance Plan (¡°MIP¡±) Rules, the Tribunal¡¯s role essentially consisted in examining whether UNHCR committed any error, in law or in fact, in the interpretation or the application of these rules.; The Tribunal identified the following issues:; Was the Applicant entitled to the benefit of the stop-loss provision?; The Tribunal...

The Tribunal found the application receivable since the contested decision was a new and separate aministrative decision distinct from any decisions issued by the UNJSPF Board in relation to their pensions. The Secretary-General decided not to grant the relief requested by the Applicant in the contested decision and thus this is a separate administrative decision.; There was no mention in the Applicants¡¯ acceptance of their appointments confirming that they were also provided with a copy of the UNJSPF Regulations, being therefore aware of their content and accepting their contracts to be...

In line with the jurisprudence of the Organization, the role of the Tribunal was limited to reviewing whether the candidate received full and fair consideration, the procedures were followed, improper motives were absent and relevant materials had been considered. In this regard, UNAT has held that a candidate alleging a failure to observe his or her right to full and fair consideration for selection must prove through clear and convincing evidence that procedure was violated, the panel was biased, irrelevant material was considered or relevant material ignored. Contrary to the Applicant¡¯s...

The decision to temporarily withhold the Applicant¡¯s final entitlements pending the completion of the investigation by OAI into allegations of fraud, collusion, conflict of interest and misuse of authority was not receivable since it did not constitute an appealable administrative decision within the meaning of article 2.1 (a) of the UNDT Statute. The application was not receivable, ratione materiae, since the contested ¡°decision¡± did not have direct legal consequences for the Applicant. Additionally, the Applicant took the decision to resign, notwithstanding being advised that in doing so a...

Was the Applicant¡¯s candidature given full and fair consideration?; As an international multilateral organization with Member States having different descriptions in respect of academic qualifications, the Organization has a contractual obligation and a duty of care and due diligence towards its staff members to ensure that their candidatures are fairly and properly considered. The use of Anglo-Saxon terms to the apparent exclusion of the terminology used by other educational systems is not consistent with the proper exercise of that duty of care, or of the fair consideration of the Applicant...