51ÁÔÆæ

UNAT considered Mr Gharemani¡¯s request for revision of judgment No. 2011-UNAT-171. UNAT held that the request was a disguised way to criticise the judgment or to expose grounds to disagree with it, following a style of cross-reference to other documents that made it mostly incomprehensible and indirectly violated the page limitation for such an application. UNAT held that there was no reason why Mr Gharemani could not have filed his petition for revision within 30 days of the discovery of the facts as provided for in Article 11(1) of the UNAT Statute. UNAT held that the request was time-barred...

The decision was taken on the grounds that the Applicant did not fulfill the educational requirements. The Applicant argued that the decision was made in retaliation of his activities as staff representative. The UNDT found that the decision was illegal since documentary evidence showed that the Administration applied the notion of ¡°public administration¡± randomly and that based on the Applicant¡¯s educational credentials, he ought to have been invited to participate in the examination in question. The UNDT found that the Applicant did not submit conclusive evidence that the decision was...

The decision was taken on the grounds that the Applicant had failed to submit the essay required by the vacancy announcement. The Applicant argued that the decision was taken in retaliation of his activities as staff representative. The Tribunal found that the decision not to convoke the Applicant to the examination was justified since he failed to submit the one-page essay in French, which was clearly an eliminatory requirement indicated in the vacancy announcement. The UNDT further found that the Applicant did not submit evidence in support of his claim that the decision was taken in...

The Applicants argue that the facts were not established and that their actions did not amount to misconduct, since they were acting in self-defense or in defense of someone else. The Tribunal noted that video evidence, i.e. hotel security camera footage, constituted the only reliable evidence to establish the facts in the instant case and concluded that the Applicants, who were on an official mission at the material time, initiated the dispute and the physical altercation and did not act in self-defense when they assaulted a security guard. Accordingly, the UNDT found that the facts...

The UNDT found that, having waited for approximately one year and a half to raise claims regarding the alleged lack of access to the United Nations cafeteria facilities, the Applicant acquiesced to the arrangements put in place by the Respondent in view of the renovation-related requirements. The UNDT further found that, in view of the CMP-related requirements that necessitated the move to the Madison Building, the Respondent put in place alternative measures that were neither unreasonable nor unfair. The UNDT rejected the application.

Abuse of Process: Proceedings before the Tribunal are not the proper forum to advocate legal reform. Where the Tribunal determines that any applications before it are frivolous, vexatious and/or an abuse of the Court¡¯s process, it will not hesitate to visit sanctions upon the offending party as provided for in the UNDT Statute. Vexatious Proceedings: An action may be held to be vexatious if it is obviously unsustainable, or frivolous, improper or instituted without sufficient ground to serve solely as an annoyance to the Respondent.

The UNDT examined its competence over the matter and found that it does not have jurisdiction over claims concerning individual contractors/consultants/national experts. As a result, the UNDT rejected the application by summary judgment without consideration of its merits.

Disciplinary investigations: are not criminal in nature and the evidential standards that apply to criminal investigations do not apply. The decision maker cannot exclude the evidence obtained by an unlawful interview from consideration but the weight of the evidence obtained in unfair or unlawful circumstances should be treated with the utmost caution.

The recovery was made on the basis that the Applicant did not complete the expected period of three months of service in UNOCI upon return from his home leave. The Respondent submitted that the application was not receivable as the Applicant¡¯s request for management evaluation and application with the UNDT were not filed within the filing deadlines. The UNDT found that the Applicant having been found in Egglesfield UNDT/2012/208 to be in continuous service, his employment remained continuous beyond three months after his return from home leave and any recovered lump sum for home leave should...

Performance Evaluation: The career management system is a system that required mutuality and cooperation from both the supervisor and a staff member. The processing of the Applicant¡¯s PAR was unlawful. It was completed in haste and in hindsight once a decision not to renew her contract was made. The finalisation of the PAR without any input from the Applicant was a serious breach of her right due process. The PAR had not been completed either at the time of the contested decision or the expiry of the Applicant¡¯s FTA and the Administration proceeded with its decision not to renew the Applicant...

The Tribunal found that the Applicant had had a break in service which disrupted the eligibility requirement of five years¡¯ continuous service with the Organization. Eligibility requirements: Whether a staff member is eligible for consideration has to be assessed against clear and objective criteria, which is not open to discretion. Break-in Service: In the context of the United Nations, a break in service consists of a certain period of time between two contracts, governed by the United Nations staff rules, during which a person is not employed by the Organization. Competence of decision...

Following successful settlement discussions, the Applicant filed a motion to withdraw her application, confirming that she was withdrawing all of her allegations and claims. The UNDT stated in the judgment that, the dispute having been settled by way of a settlement agreement, the Applicant withdrew her case fully, finally, and entirely, including on the merits. The case was closed without liberty to reinstate or appeal.

The Applicant is ¡°not contest[ing] the proportionality of the sanction(s) imposed¡±. Consequently, the Tribunal need only consider if not reporting another staff member¡¯s violation ST/SGB/2004/15 was correctly considered by the Respondent as being the Applicant¡¯s misconduct, whether his due process rights were respected and whether all the mitigating circumstances were taken into account. There is no evidence before the Tribunal that the Applicant requested, and was denied, either access to counsel or further opportunities to defend himself during the investigation conducted by OIOS. With...

The Applicant is ¡°not contest[ing] the proportionality of the sanction(s) imposed¡±. Consequently, the Tribunal need only consider if not reporting another staff member¡¯s violation ST/SGB/2004/15 was correctly considered by the Respondent as being the Applicant¡¯s misconduct, whether his due process rights were respected and whether all the mitigating circumstances were taken into account. There is no evidence before the Tribunal that the Applicant requested, and was denied, either access to counsel or further opportunities to defend himself during the investigation conducted by OIOS. With...

Legal Obligations/Applicable rules: Rules affecting jurisdiction and remedies are not procedural but substantive in nature. A person cannot be entitled to remedies or be subject to penalties that come into force after the event in question. Protected activity: The criteria for determining whether a person has properly reported misconduct or engaged in a protected activity are not mere matters of procedure. A report of misconduct is the protected activity which is the very foundation of a claim for protection without which a claim cannot be considered. Retroactive application: As a matter of...

Receivability Judgment Appealed: As the Applicant remains a staff member early resolution of this case is essential; the facts concerning the disciplinary case and the non-disciplinary issues of demotion are inextricably linked and all of the claims can be expeditiously heard together; the appeal against receivability will take several months to be resolved and will delay the determination of the disciplinary matter. Finally, the issue of receivability may be raised in an appeal against the final judgment on the merits. Written notice: Apart from the events which intervened, he suffered no...

The Tribunal finds that the cancellation of the second selection exercise and its subsequent recommencement were, in the circumstances, appropriate and lawful in view of the strong representations by the Staff Council and the complaints raised regarding the selection exercise. However, there were excessive and unjustifiable delays in concluding the selection process. The Organization also consistently and without just cause failed to respond to the Applicant¡¯s reasonable requests for information and action. The delays in question as well as the failure to respond to the Applicant¡¯s enquiries...

Due Process: UNAT concluded in Molari that ¡°disciplinary cases are not criminal.¡± So therefore the right and rules pertaining to self-incrimination are purely associated with criminal procedure and therefore does not apply in this instance which is a disciplinary case. The Tribunal finds that she was provided systematically with the evidence, including the payslips in the course of the interview, in addition to an opportunity to review the record of interview. Ultra vires: In this case the person who took the decision as recorded in the letter of dismissal was the Under Secretary-General for...

The fact that a staff member is no longer employed by the Organization does not mean that the Organization is not required to notify him or her of the completion of an administrative proceeding related to his or her current or past employment. With respect to the completion of an investigation into allegation filed against him or her, a former staff member benefits from the same rights as a current staff member, including that of being informed of any decision taken by HR related to an investigation of which he was the subject and, as stated in Applicant UNDT/2010/069/Corr.2, ¡°the right to...

The application was withdrawn by the Applicant in light of a settlement agreement.