UNDT/2022/136, Kamal
The application is not receivable ratione temporis as time-barred.
UNDT/2022/135, Applicant
The sensitive nature of the sexual harassment allegations and the fact that the victim may be easily identified by the factual circumstances surrounding the case constitute exceptional circumstances that warrant granting anonymity.
The Complainant¡¯s account of facts in relation to the relevant incidents is credible and reliable. The Applicant failed to adduce any evidence that could have undermined the credibility of the Complainant¡¯s evidence. There is no evidence of ulterior motives on the part of the Complainant.
The Administration succeeded in discharging its burden of proof to show that...
2022-UNAT-1299, Hiba Mohamad Abou Salah
The Commissioner-General appealed.
The UNAT held that insofar as the Agency's decision of 25 April 2019 rejecting the request for an SPOA might not have been unequivocal, that decision was reiterated in the e-mail of 17 June 2019 leaving no doubt that the Agency had decided then to pay Ms. Abou Salah an SPOA of 15 per cent rather than 25 per cent, possibly in breach of her contract. The fact that other persons subsequently sought to intervene on her behalf did not change that.
The UNAT found that Ms. Abou Salah¡¯s subsequent correspondence, as well as correspondence written on her behalf...
2022-UNAT-1300, Marius Mihail Russo-Got
Mr. Russo-Got appealed. The UNAT held that the evidence incontrovertibly established that Mr. Russo-Got had failed to challenge any blacklisting decision in his request for management evaluation. Moreover, while the application contained references to several posts for which he had applied and had not been selected, he did not request management evaluation of any selection decision nor did he appeal any particular selection decision in his application to the UNDT. The UNAT found that UNDT accordingly had not erred in finding that the claims in the application regarding the alleged...
2022-UNAT-1298, Specker
Ms. Specker appealed. The UNAT held that the essential question is whether the sanction imposed was proportionate. The principle of proportionality requires that a disciplinary measure imposed on a staff member shall be proportionate to the nature and gravity of his or her misconduct. The UNAT noted that Ms. Specker¡¯s main argument was that the sanction imposed upon her displayed an element of historical inconsistency in that lesser sanctions for similar misconduct had been imposed in other cases. The implication of her submission is that the failure to impose separation for this kind of...
2022-UNAT-1301, Koffi Gilles Wilfried Amani
The UNAT held that because the possible error in the assessment of the facts by the UNDT had no bearing on the outcome of the case, the Secretary-General¡¯s cross-appeal could not be received.
The UNAT found that although an Ivorian Court judgment, finding the staff member guilty of fraud, had not been cited in the sanction letter, this was inconsequential because it was clear from the record that he had been aware of the judgment when he applied for the position and completed the PHP specifying ¡°no¡± to the question whether he had ¡°ever been indicted, fined or imprisoned for the violation of...
UNDT/2022/134, Rixen
The contested decision impacted the Applicant¡¯s terms of appointment or contract of employment. It had a negative impact on the Applicant¡¯s legal situation vis-¨¤-vis his employer and on his ability to properly plan his professional life. It also altered the reason for the Applicant¡¯s separation from service from termination of contract due to abolishment of post to non-renewal. Consequently, the application is receivable ratione materiae.
There is no evidence confirming the alleged operational needs justifying the contested decision to keep the Applicant beyond 31 May 2021. There is enough...
UNDT/2022/133, Applicant
On anonymization Article 11.6 of the Tribunal¡¯s Statute provides in its relevant part that its judgments shall be published while protecting personal data. A similar provision is contained in art. 26.2 of the Tribunal¡¯s Rules of Procedure. Given that the present case relies on medical evidence to support a claim for moral harm, the Tribunal finds that it is reasonable to redact the Applicant¡¯s name from this judgment. On the merits Based on the evidence on record, the Tribunal concluded the following. First, the Tribunal found that the two charges against the Applicant were established as per...
2022-UNAT-1293, James Okwakol
The UNAT concluded that the UNDT erred in considering that the different periods of ALWOP on which Mr. Okwakol was placed, were the subject of a single and continuing administrative decision. The UNAT held that each of the three identifiable periods was the subject of consideration or reconsideration of the circumstances at that time. On each occasion, the Organisation took a decision about the state of the misconduct investigation and its ongoing nature and advised Mr. Okwakol accordingly. It was not decisive or even material that the renewals of the ALWOP were referred to as extensions of...
2022-UNAT-1295, Alejandro Arigon
UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNJSPB decision.
UNAT recalled that at the time of Mr. Arigon¡¯s entry into participation in 2002, Article 24 did not allow him the option to restore his prior contributory service because that option was limited to participants whose previous period of contributory service was less than five years and who had received a withdrawal settlement; neither of which applied to him. When the 2007 amendment to Article 24 was introduced, he had a one-year window, from 1 April 2007 to 1 April 2008, during which he could elect to restore his prior period of...