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UNAT considered the appeal by the Secretary-General challenging the compensation for moral damages. UNAT held that there was enough evidence produced that the amount of compensation for moral damages had been paid into the staff member¡¯s bank account. UNAT held that the payment of the compensation constituted an acceptance of the Secretary-General of the UNDT judgment. UNAT held that the appeal was, therefore, moot. UNAT rejected the staff member¡¯s claim for costs against the Secretary-General because of abuse of process. UNAT held that although the Secretary-General¡¯s appeal had no merit, it...

UNAT rejected the request for an oral hearing finding that there was no need for further evidence. UNAT held that UNDT had erred in law and procedure when it did not consider the Appellant¡¯s peculiar circumstances by remanding their case to the NYGSCAC for reconsideration. UNAT held that it was impossible for the Appellant¡¯s job descriptions to be finalized, since not only the Appellants Ejaz and Elizabeth, but also their supervisors, have all retired from the Organisation, while the Appellants Cherian and Cone have passed away. UNAT held that the case was similar to the related case disposed...

UNAT held that pursuant to Article 30 UNAT RoP and considering the medical condition of Appellant¡¯s counsel, it was in the interests of justice to grant the Appellant¡¯s motion for an extension of time to file her comments on the Secretary-General¡¯s motion to supplement his answer. UNAT accepted the Appellant¡¯s comments on the Secretary-General¡¯s motion as timely filed. UNAT denied the Secretary-General¡¯s motion for leave to supplement his answer since his additional pleadings would not advance or assist with the disposal of the case. UNAT held that UNDT had very thoroughly considered the...

UNAT rejected the request for an oral hearing finding that there was no need for further clarification. UNAT held that the Appellant did not base his appeal on any grounds for appeal in accordance with those established in the UNAT Statute. UNAT agreed with the UNRWA DT¡¯s conclusions about the untimely submission for review of the purported administrative decision approving a new workflow, the non-receivability of the challenge against the directive to the staff of the Finance Department not to take instructions from the Appellant, as well as the intermediate nature of the decision to refer...

The UNDT found that the first case (UNDT/NY/2015/038) was not receivable due to the Applicant¡¯s failure 51ÁÔÆæ the relevant time limit for the filing of her request for management evaluation. The UNDT found that the second case (UNDT/NY/2015/038) was also not receivable as the Applicant¡¯s argument that her earlier evaluation request (to which she received no reply) should be considered as the applicable management evaluation request would have resulted in her application being time-barred by several months.

The Tribunal found that the application, even if it was diligently filed by the Applicant, was premature as the Applicant¡¯s reconsideration request was still pending before the Secretary-General.

UNDT¡¯s review of OLA¡¯s letter. The Tribunal found that OLA¡¯s letter of 11 August 2015 is not an administrative decision in the form of a settlement provided by the Administration based on OLA¡¯s preliminary review of the Applicant¡¯s claim for gross negligence pursuant to art. 3 of ST/SGB/230 or in a form of an offer to submit the claim to arbitration pursuant to art. 6 from ST/SGB/230. Even if OLA¡¯s letter of 11 August 2015 were to be considered, as submitted by the Applicant, as a response to his ¡°notice of arbitration¡±, the Tribunal would have no competence to review it. As clearly results...

Receivability ¨CThe Applicant¡¯s patience in waiting for the Secretary-General to decide on when to grant him appropriate remedies cannot be used against him. It is not in contention that as soon as he was informed that the Secretary-General had decided that the appropriate remedies he was promised meant no remedies at all, the Applicant approached the Tribunal. The Applicant¡¯s claims in regard to the other administrative decisions of tampering with a published vacancy announcement and the membership of the former incumbent of the position on the interview panel which were affirmed in management...

Standard of proof in disciplinary cases - In disciplinary proceedings it is well settled now that the evidence must be clear and convincing and that would include identification evidence. Evidence of misconduct must be clear and convincing. Findings of fact by the trial judge - As a trier of facts, a first instance judge has the means and power to assess the veracity and accuracy of a witness. The findings of fact of a trial judge should rarely be reversed on appeal unless the findings are so perverse that no reasonable person would have come to the conclusions reached on the facts by the...

The Tribunal found that the Applicant¡¯s fixed-term appointment was not renewed because contrary to its claims, the UNMIL Administration did not follow proper procedures in determining whether he should be reassigned to the new D-1 position in the office of the D/SRSG Rule of Law. The Tribunal also found that the Applicant was not given full and fair consideration for the new D-1 position in the office of the D/SRSG Rule of Law and that the guidance provided in the Secretary-General¡¯s report and the counsel of the General Assembly were ignored. Due process ¨C No comparative review or any review...

After conducting case management and issuing a number of orders, the Tribunal considered that the Applicant had identified four decisions and/or issues for consideration: (a) a decision in 2010 in which she was denied the full period of annual leave that she had requested; (b) an implied decision or decisions not to provide her with a job description in a timely manner; (c) an implied decision or decisions not to reduce her workload despite awareness on the part of management that she was suffering from health issues; and (d) whether she should be awarded compensation for the effect of the...

Management evaluation: the requirement of filing a request for management evaluation prior to submitting an application before the Tribunal has been invariably upheld by the Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal has no jurisdiction to either waive the deadlines for the filing of requests for management evaluation with the MEU or make any exception to it; therefore, the Tribunal is incompetent to review decisions which have not been subjected to management evaluation. Technical bodies: as per staff rule 11.2(b), technical bodies are determined by the Secretary-General. Absent such determination...

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he Tribunal rescinded the decision not to grant the Applicant a continuing appointment and ordered the Respondent to grant the Applicant a continuing appointment retroactively from 7 June 2014. As the contested decision concerned a question of appointment, the Respondent was given the alternative option of paying the Applicant USD5,000 in compensation. The Applicant¡¯s request for moral damages was rejected.

Strict enforcement of time limits: time limits for formal contestation of a decision are to be enforced strictly. Exceptional cases (in relation to the waiver of time limits): according to art. 8.3 of the Tribunal¡¯s Statute, the Tribunal may suspend or waive the deadlines for a limited period ¡°only in exceptional cases¡±. The Appeals Tribunal has repeatedly found that only circumstances beyond the applicant¡¯s control that prevented him or her from exercising the right of appeal in a timely manner may be considered exceptional circumstances justifying a waiver of the statutory time limits.

The Tribunal found that her separation upon the expiry of her contract was not the subject matter of the Application before it. Damages for moral injury ¨C As held by UNAT in Asariotis, damages for moral injury may arise in two situations: first, for a fundamental breach of the employee¡¯s substantive entitlements arising from his or her contract, and/or from a breach of procedural due process entitlements; secondly, where the employee has produced evidence of harm, stress or anxiety caused by the breach.

The Tribunal concluded that the non-renewal of the Applicant¡¯s fixed-term appointment (FTA) was unlawful because he was erroneously subjected to a recruitment and selection process after he had been successfully transitioned from UNMIS to UNMISS as the sole candidate for the post of State Coordinator in Aweil. The Applicant was awarded compensation of one year¡¯s net base salary. Lateral transfer: The Tribunal noted the absence of important terms in the 19 December 2010 letter regarding the length of the assignment and reabsorption and concluded that the Applicant had, in fact, been laterally...

Starting date for time limits: Time limits must be counted from the moment all facts necessary to the commencement of the case were known, or at least should have reasonably been known .Publication of vacancies: The Administration is uncontestably required to announce existing and foreseeable vacancies to be filled. If more than one vacancy is to be advertised under the same JO, the JO in question needs to clearly indicate so. Non-retroactive application of the Statute¡¯s amendment: An amendment of the applicable rules cannot apply to an application filed prior to the entry into force of said...

he second case was filed to address the Respondent¡¯s contention that the first case was not receivable. The UNDT found that the Applicant was not required to seek management evaluation since the impugned decision followed the completion of a disciplinary process. Pursuant to art. 8.1(d)(ii) of the UNDT Statute, the Applicant was required to file his application with the Tribunal within 90 days from the date of notification of the contested decision. The Applicant, however, first sought management evaluation and subsequently missed the 90-day deadline for filing with the UNDT. The UNDT found...

Administrative decision: Advice from OAIS about where to submit a complaint that does not fall within the scope of its authority does not produce any direct legal consequences to the legal order and, therefore, does not constitute an administrative decision.In the absence of a specific time limit in the applicable rules and regulations for finalizing PAD rebuttals, a former staff member has no right to compel the Administration to investigate misconduct for a delay in the completion of a PAD rebuttal process; therefore, the absence of a response to such request does not constitute an implied...