51ÁÔÆæ

The UNAT found that in the absence of an express mandate in the legal framework that a continuing appointment can be extended or a staff member be re-instated for the purpose of utilizing sick leave, Mr. Iacovino¡¯s entitlement to sick leave ceased on the date specified in his termination letter, 31 December 2023. The UNAT recognized that pursuant to ST/AI/2005/3, staff on fixed-term appointments may be granted an extension to utilize an entitlement to sick leave, but there is no analogous rule applicable to staff serving on a continuing appointment, much less to staff whose appointments have...

The UNAT noted that in its prior Judgment the UNAT had found that the staff member knew or reasonably should have known of the contested decisions from the date he was notified by email of the reclassification of his post, or at the very latest on the date the initial job opening was advertised on Inspira.

The UNAT held that the alleged new fact that the vacancy for the post was filled 13 months after the staff member left the Organization would not have materially impacted the outcome of its prior Judgment. The UNAT accordingly found the application for revision not receivable ratione...

L¡¯UNAT a not¨¦ que, dans sa requ¨ºte, le fonctionnaire avait clairement identifi¨¦ la d¨¦cision contest¨¦e comme ¨¦tant le courriel de la Caisse des pensions l¡¯informant que ses prestations de retraite avaient d¨¦j¨¤ ¨¦t¨¦ vers¨¦es et qu¡¯il n¡¯avait droit ¨¤ aucune autre
prestation.

L¡¯UNAT a not¨¦ qu¡¯il n¡¯avait pas demand¨¦ de r¨¦examen de la d¨¦cision ni interjet¨¦ appel devant le Comit¨¦ permanent du Conseil de la Caisse des pensions, mais qu¡¯il avait plut?t d¨¦pos¨¦ une demande d¡¯¨¦valuation par la direction, puis interjet¨¦ appel devant le Tribunal des litiges. L¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ que, de ce fait, il n¡¯avait pas...

L¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ que le UNDT n¡¯avait commis aucune erreur de fait ni de droit en concluant que le comportement de la fonctionnaire constituait une faute grave.

L¡¯UNAT a not¨¦ que le UNDT avait examin¨¦ les explications fournies par la fonctionnaire concernant les erreurs commises lors de la pr¨¦sentation des demandes de subvention pour l¡¯¨¦ducation sp¨¦cialis¨¦e, mais qu¡¯il s¡¯¨¦tait prononc¨¦ contre elle en se fondant sur son ¨¦valuation de son manque de cr¨¦dibilit¨¦. L¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ que ses conjectures quant aux ¨¦l¨¦ments de preuve qu¡¯un t¨¦moin potentiel aurait pu apporter relevaient de la simple...

L¡¯UNAT a not¨¦ qu¡¯une partie de la demande d¡¯¨¦valuation par la direction formul¨¦e par la fonctionnaire ne semblait pas avoir ¨¦t¨¦ prise en compte par le TDNU. L¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ que les informations figurant dans le formulaire type MER constituaient une demande d¡¯¨¦valuation par la direction des d¨¦cisions contest¨¦es, y compris le non-respect d¡¯une promesse pr¨¦sum¨¦e de maintenir son emploi en garantissant le financement de son poste pendant une p¨¦riode donn¨¦e. L¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ que la fonctionnaire avait suffisamment soulev¨¦ les questions relatives ¨¤ la l¨¦galit¨¦ de la suppression de son poste et de la...

The UNAT noted that a part of the staff member¡¯s request for management evaluation appeared not to have been considered by the UNDT. The UNAT was of the view that the information in the MER standard form constituted a request for management evaluation of the contested decisions, including breach of an alleged promise to continue her employment by maintaining funding of her post for a particular period. The UNAT held that the staff member had raised sufficiently the issues of the lawfulness of the abolition of her post and the termination of her employment to have met the requirements of their...

The UNAT noted that the staff member had requested management evaluation 64 days after he was informed of the contested decision.

The UNAT found no merit in the staff member¡¯s arguments that the delay in requesting management evaluation had been minimal or that his permanent incapacity constituted a force majeure which the UNDT was obliged to consider.

The UNAT found no error in the UNDT finding the application not receivable ratione materiae.

The UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT Judgment.

The UNAT was satisfied that the UNDT had not erred in fact or in law in deciding that the staff member¡¯s conduct constituted serious misconduct.

The UNAT noted that the UNDT had considered the staff member¡¯s explanations for errors in submitting claims for the special education grant but had found against her based on its assessment of her lack of credibility. The UNAT found her speculation as to what evidence a potential witness may have established to be supposition. The UNAT stated that it had been right for the Administration not to pursue allegations that it considered could not be...

The UNAT noted that in his application, the staff member had clearly identified the contested decision as the Pension Fund¡¯s email which informed him that his pension benefits had already been paid and there were no further entitlements.

The UNAT noted that he had not requested a review of the decision or filed an appeal to the Standing Committee of the Pension Board but rather had filed a request for management evaluation and then appealed to the Dispute Tribunal. The UNAT held that, as such, he had not followed proper procedure under the rules of the Pension Fund.

The UNAT concluded that the...

L¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ que le recours form¨¦ par le fonctionnaire contre la r¨¨gle 3.3 du R¨¨glement du personnel (b) ¨C en l¡¯occurrence, la distinction ¨¦tablie entre les candidats internes et externes en mati¨¨re de d¨¦termination de l¡¯¨¦chelon ¨C en vigueur au moment de sa s¨¦lection et dont le r¨¦tablissement avait ¨¦t¨¦ ordonn¨¦ par l¡¯Assembl¨¦e g¨¦n¨¦rale, ne pouvait faire l¡¯objet d¡¯un contr?le juridictionnel, car cela reviendrait ¨¤ ¨¦valuer le contenu de fond d¡¯une r¨¦solution ¨¤ l¡¯aune de valeurs normatives sup¨¦rieures, question qui ne
relevait ni de la comp¨¦tence de l¡¯UNAT ni de celle du UNDT.

Le TNA a en outre...

The UNAT held that the staff member¡¯s challenge to Staff Rule 3.3(b) ¨Cspecifically, the distinction drawn between internal and external candidates with respect to step determination ¨C in force at the time of his selection and whose reestablishment was ordered by the General Assembly, could not be subject to judicial review, as it would be tantamount to testing the substantive content of a resolution against higher normative values, a question that fell outside the remit of the UNAT or the UNDT.

The UNAT further found that, since the staff member was selected for the position on 17 May 2024, af...

L¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ que M. Flekal, en acceptant le renvoi de la plainte pour harc¨¨lement le 3 mars 2024 en vue d¡¯une intervention de la direction, avait en substance renonc¨¦ ¨¤ son droit de saisir les tribunaux pour absence d¡¯enqu¨ºte sur ses plaintes pour harc¨¨lement, y compris pour intimidation. L¡¯UNAT a not¨¦ qu¡¯en vertu de l¡¯instruction technique pertinente du D¨¦partement des services de contr?le interne, l¡¯intimidation ne constitue pas une cat¨¦gorie distincte de faute professionnelle, mais est consid¨¦r¨¦e comme une forme de harc¨¨lement.

L¡¯UNAT a not¨¦ que M. Flekal avait ¨¦galement renonc¨¦ ¨¤ sa...

L¡¯UNAT a fait remarquer que la d¨¦cision de soumettre M. Flekal ¨¤ une proc¨¦dure d¡¯OTI ne constituait qu¡¯une ¨¦tape interm¨¦diaire du processus de gestion des performances et n¡¯avait eu aucun impact direct ni aucune cons¨¦quence d¨¦favorable sur ses conditions de nomination ou son contrat de travail; il ne s¡¯agissait donc pas d¡¯une d¨¦cision administrative susceptible de recours judiciaire.

L¡¯UNAT a constat¨¦ que M. Flekal avait ¨¦t¨¦ mis ¨¤ la retraite pour raisons m¨¦dicales, d¨¦clar¨¦ inapte au service et b¨¦n¨¦ficiait d¡¯une pension d¡¯invalidit¨¦. Il n¡¯a pas ¨¦t¨¦ mis ¨¤ la retraite de l¡¯Agence en raison du non...

Bien que le Secr¨¦taire g¨¦n¨¦ral ne f?t pas partie ¨¤ l¡¯ordonnance contest¨¦e, l¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ qu¡¯il avait un int¨¦r¨ºt direct et recevable dans un recours visant ¨¤ d¨¦terminer si le TNDU est habilit¨¦ ¨¤ d¨¦cider si son repr¨¦sentant l¨¦gal doit ¨ºtre exclu de la possibilit¨¦ de compara?tre dans de futures affaires et dans des affaires sans rapport devant le TNDU. Si le TDN est habilit¨¦ ¨¤ ordonner une telle mesure, cela fait peser un risque important d¡¯atteinte ¨¤ l¡¯autorit¨¦ du Secr¨¦taire g¨¦n¨¦ral de nommer des membres du personnel pour exercer des fonctions juridiques, d¡¯allouer ses ressources juridiques et...

L¡¯UNAT a estim¨¦ que l¡¯UNDT n¡¯avait pas commis d¡¯erreur dans la d¨¦finition de la port¨¦e de la demande de M. Kebede, et que son all¨¦gation de repr¨¦sailles syst¨¦miques n¡¯avait pas ¨¦t¨¦ valablement soumise ¨¤ l¡¯UNDT. M. Kebede n¡¯a contest¨¦ la d¨¦cision de
non-s¨¦lection que dans sa demande d¡¯¨¦valuation par la direction et dans sa requ¨ºte adress¨¦e ¨¤ l¡¯UNDT.

Le TNDU a partag¨¦ l¡¯avis du Secr¨¦taire g¨¦n¨¦ral selon lequel il n¡¯existait aucune preuve de fausset¨¦ mat¨¦rielle ou de d¨¦claration trompeuse de la part de l¡¯Administration ¨¤ l¡¯¨¦gard du TNDU concernant la note attribu¨¦e ¨¤ M. Kebede lors de l¡¯entretien...

Although the Secretary-General was not a party to the impugned Order, the UNAT held that the Secretary-General had a direct and cognizable interest in an appeal which considers whether the UNDT is entitled to determine whether his legal representative should be disbarred from appearing in future cases and unrelated cases before the UNDT. If the UNDT is empowered to order as much, it raises a significant risk of harm to the Secretary-General¡¯s authority to appoint staff members to perform legal functions, allocate its legal resources, and hold staff members accountable in accordance with the...

The UNAT found that Mr. Flekal, by consenting to the referral of the harassment claim on 3 March 2024, for managerial action, had essentially waived the right to pursue a remedy before the Tribunals for the lack of an investigation into his complaints of harassment, including bullying. The UNAT noted that under the relevant technical instruction of the Department of Internal Oversight Services, bullying is not a separate category of misconduct, it is considered a kind of harassment.

The UNAT noted that Mr. Flekal had also waived his ¡°abuse of power¡± claim because it was not pled in his...

The UNAT noted that the decision to place Mr. Flekal on an OTI process is only an intermediate step in the performance management process and has had no direct impact or adverse consequence on his terms of appointment or the contract of employment and therefore is not an administrative decision subject to judicial review.

The UNAT found that Mr. Flekal was separated for medical reasons, declared incapacitated and awarded a disability pension. He was not separated from the Agency due to non-renewal of his fixed-term appointment. Therefore, Mr. Flekal¡¯s challenge of the 29 August 2023 decision...

The UNAT found that the UNDT did not err in its framing of the scope of Mr. Kebede¡¯s application, and that his claim of systemic retaliation was not properly before the UNDT. Mr. Kebede only contested the non-selection decision both in his request for management evaluation and application to the UNDT.

The UNDT agreed with the Secretary-General that there was no evidence of material falsehood or misrepresentation by the Administration to the UNDT relating to Mr. Kebede¡¯s rating during the interview for the post. The UNAT noted that the ¡°Partially Satisfactory¡± rating was an assessment of how Mr...