Administration’s discretion in constituting interview panels for temporary appointments - It is within the discretion of the Administration as to how the interview panel for a temporary position is constituted as long as the composition of the said panel is consistent with the requirements of ST/AI/201/4/Rev. 1.
Compensation for delayed placement on roster of pre-approved candidates: Although the Applicant was not selected for the post, the delay in the selection exercise had a direct impact on him because, had this exercise been finished sooner, the Applicant would have been placed on the roster of pre-approved candidates earlier, which would have opened up additional employment opportunities that would have been available to him as a roster candidate. The UNDT found that the Applicant was given full and fair consideration in the selection process. However, the UNDT found that the selection exercise...
The Tribunal found that the facts of the case created a situation in which a fair-minded observer would have concluded that there was a real possibility that the presence of that senior official on the interview panel would lead to a reasonable perception of bias. It was thus unreasonable for that Panel member not to, at least, have raised the matter of a perceived conflict of interest with the panel and, ultimately, not to have recused himself from sitting on it. However, since there was no evidence that the presence of the senior manager had an impact on the outcome of the selection process...
The hiring manager for the contested position had determined that the Applicant did not fully meet the work experience requirements for the job opening. The Tribunal did not consider that the assessment of the hiring manager that the Applicant had not provided evidence of the relevant work experience was clearly erroneous or unreasonable so as to constitute an error of fact. In addition, after considering ST/AI/2010/3 (Staff selection system) and the Manual for the Hiring Manager on the Staff Selection System, the Tribunal found that there was no error of law when the hiring manager conducted...
The Tribunal found that requiring candidates to such a post to type in Russian their answers to the written test was not unfair or unreasonable and noted that, in any event, this requirement was eventually lifted at the Applicant’s request. The fact that graders may have been able to identify his test because it was handwritten or the fact that the Applicant was advised that he was allowed to handwrite shortly before the written test deadline do not vitiate the test, as they arise from the Applicant’s desire to and result from the Administration’s efforts to accommodate his concerns. Also, the...
The Tribunal found that filling a vacancy by laterally transferring a staff member holding the same grade and within the department of the vacant post, without undergoing a full-fledged selection procedure under the staff selection system, does not per se violate the applicable legal framework. Lateral transfer under sec. 2.5 of ST/AI/2010/3: Sec. 2.5 of ST/AI/2010/3 explicitly provides for the possibility of transferring staff within their departments or offices to job openings at the same level without following the procedures laid down in the staff selection system. This provision does not...
Lawfulness of competency-based interview: On the basis of the context and requirements of the Hiring Manager’s Manual and the Inspira Recruiter’s Manual, the Tribunal interpreted section 1(c) of ST/AI/2010/3 as requiring that an assessment panel should normally have three members that must include a female and two subject matter experts. Given this interpretation, the Tribunal concluded that the Panel was not properly constituted as it did not have two subject matter experts. The Tribunal accepted that in evaluating candidates for selection there is inevitably some overlap of the competencies...
The Tribunal was unable to conclude that the presumption of regularity in the selection process had been rebutted by the Applicant. There was nothing to suggest that the Respondent was motivated by any improper factors in selecting a candidate other than the Applicant. The Applicant did not, even on a preponderance of evidence, establish that the selection process was not fair. The Tribunal could not conclude that the Applicant was subjected to any discrimination or that the selection exercise was tainted.
There was a valid offer of employment made to the Applicant, which was subsequently withdrawn. Thus, the Applicant acquired the status of an individual entitled to seek redress before the Tribunal. The act of requesting the waiver following the issuance, and acceptance, of the offer of appointment formed part of a continuum of events which should properly have led to the Applicant being appointed to the position she was sought out for. Noting that the decision not to appoint the Applicant would probably not be rescinded, the Tribunal, in the alternative, awarded her 18 months’ net base salary...
The Tribunal found, on receivability, that this amounts to an appealable administrative decision, insofar as it had direct effects on the Applicant’s rights, and on the merits, that filling a vacancy by laterally transferring a staff member holding the same grade and within the department of the vacant post, without undergoing a full-fledged selection procedure under the staff selection system, does not per se violate the applicable legal framework. Direct legal effects: A decision to fill a given vacancy through a lateral movement has direct legal effects on the rights of potential candidates...
