2021-UNAT-1085, Abu Skheileh
UNAT agreed with UNRWA DT that the Agency is estopped from revisiting the determination of whether the injury was service-related, given that the Agency had made several representations to the staff member over a period of time, and which the staff member had relied upon. However, UNAT disagreed that granting reimbursement for medical expenses in Syria would automatically mean that the Agency would also pay for such expenses in Germany. Pursuant to Area Staff Rule 106.4(3), the staff member needed prior authorization before he could be reimbursed for the costs of medical treatment in hospitals...
2021-UNAT-1086, Loubani
UNAT disagreed with UNRWA DT and found the supervisor¡¯s request to the Agency to grant the staff member a special allowance also constituted an implicit request from the staff member himself. UNAT reasoned that not only did the supervisor act upon the express request of the staff member when he sent the recommendation to the Agency, but it was also apparent and self-understood that both the staff member and the supervisor were a party to the process. Additionally, in this particular case, it is the staff member who followed up with the Agency regarding the status of the supervisor¡¯s request...
2021-UNAT-1097, Respondent
The Secretary-General appealed on the premise that UNDT improperly substituted its decision for that of the Administration. UNAT disagreed and found that the reason UNDT rescinded the decision was because it suffered from incoherence, i.e. the reasons provided for singling out the staff member with a shorter extension of his FTA changed over time and were not supported by the facts. UNAT also noted the ex post facto reasons for selecting the cross-appellant rather than one of the other staff members provide an inadequate justification, especially in light of the incoherence and the fact that...
2021-UNAT-1103, Vladislav Krioutchkov
UNAT agreed with UNDT that the present case does not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the identification of candidates was available to the assessors. UNAT held that Mr Krioutchkov has failed to rebut the UNDT finding regarding the legality of the CRB process. UNAT held that UNDT properly reviewed the contested decision in accordance with the applicable law, and its judgment is consistent with the UNAT jurisprudence. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT judgment.
2021-UNAT-1104, George Naoum Azar
UNDT misapplied the law of mootness and erred in law in reaching the impugned Judgment, in that it omitted to follow an important passage in Kallon relating to the cautious approach in applying the law of mootness.
2021-UNAT-1105, Peker
On appeal, UNAT held that UNDT did not commit an error of law or fact in accepting estimates from three different hospitals in Turkey, although one such estimate dated in December 2015 (close to the date of the interventions in Geneva, November 2015) and the other two estimates were submitted much later in October 2019. UNAT held the December 2015 estimate was a fair estimate of the medical costs. UNAT also rejected the staff member¡¯s argument that a more favourable exchange rate (1 USD : 3 TRY), which was applicable in 2016, should have been applied to the October 2019 estimates. The Tribunal...
2021-UNAT-1081, Da Silveira
UNAT agreed with UNDT and found that the evidence on the record supports the UNDT finding that the staff member¡¯s absence from 18 January 2017 to 26 July 2018 was unauthorized, as she did not provide a duly authorized medical certificate or other justification for her failure to report to work. UNAT also found that the refusal of the Medical Services Division (MSD) to certify the staff member¡¯s sick leave request after 18 January 2017 was reasonable and that the MSD was the competent technical body to evaluate medical certifications. UNAT further agreed with UNDT that the staff member had the...
2021-UNAT-1084, Al Najjar
UNAT held that the staff member¡¯s appeal was defective because she did not specify which errors were committed by UNRWA DT in arriving at its Judgment. However, given that the staff member was not legally represented, UNAT went on to review the merits of the appeal. UNAT held that UNRWA DT did not err when it held that the staff member did not have any right to be appointed and that the recommendation from the HR Head did not mature into an enforceable right. Second, UNAT held that there was no entitlement to receive overtime pay since overtime must be authorized in advance and duly recorded...
UNDT/2021/023, Rehman
The Applicant¡¯s complaints were remanded once more to the Respondent for a proper investigation in compliance with the regulatory framework. The Respondent is to provide the Applicant with a copy of her interview transcript and summary (if any) prepared by outside provider and used in the prior investigation.
UNDT/2021/021, Battista
The Applicant has not shown that the negative employment decision had any direct adverse consequences on her contract. The Applicant¡¯s argument that the decision was used by the Administration not to renew her temporary employment is without merit. She has not adduced any evidence to substantiate her claim. On the contrary the Respondent has shown that the temporary employment expired at the end of the maximum 364 days offered in the contract. The Applicant has failed to convince the Tribunal that the decision not to renew her temporary employment was a direct consequence of the decision from...