51ÁÔÆæ

? titre pr¨¦liminaire, le Tribunal d'appel a rejet¨¦ les demandes d'audience des appelants au motif qu'une audience ne serait pas rapide et qu'¨¤ la lumi¨¨re des observations ¨¦crites d¨¦taill¨¦es, il n'y aurait rien ¨¤ gagner ¨¤ entendre les avocats des appelants en personne.

Le Tribunal d'appel a estim¨¦ qu'en l'absence d'une promesse expresse de renouvellement des engagements ¨¤ dur¨¦e d¨¦termin¨¦e des requ¨¦rants, ces derniers n'avaient pas d'esp¨¦rance l¨¦gitime de renouvellement de leurs contrats ¨¤ dur¨¦e d¨¦termin¨¦e. Les d¨¦clarations donnant des assurances aux membres du personnel de l'UNOPS n'ont pas ¨¦t¨¦...

The UNAT held that the staff member¡¯s application was not receivable ratione materiae. It further found that the e-mail identified as the contested decision was a general response from the Human Resources Partner to the staff member¡¯s general inquiry regarding SEG, which did not address his personal situation. As such, it did not constitute an individual or final administrative decision affecting his terms of appointment under Staff Rule 11.2(a).

The UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed Judgment No. UNDT/2023/107, albeit for different reasons, with Judge Colgan dissenting.

As a preliminary matter, the Appeals Tribunal dismissed the Appellants' requests for an oral hearing on grounds that an oral hearing would not be expeditious and that in light of comprehensive written submissions nothing would be gained from hearing the Appellants¡¯ counsel in person.

The Appeals Tribunal found that in the absence of an express promise of renewal of the Appellants¡¯ fixed-term appointments, the Appellants did not have a legitimate expectation of renewal of their fixed-term contracts. The statements giving assurances to UNOPS staff members were not made by a UNOPS official with...

The Appeals Tribunal found that the UNDT correctly held that it was within the SRO's discretion to make comments on Ms. Abdellaoui¡¯s performance, that the SRO's disputed comments were reasonable and balanced by other comments that provided a positive perspective supporting the overall rating, and that as such they did not detract from the overall satisfactory appraisal. Accordingly, the Appeals Tribunal concurred with the UNDT¡¯s determination that the challenged performance evaluation was not an ¡°administrative decision¡± and agreed that the application was therefore not receivable ratione...

The UNAT noted that the Administration had initiated a preliminary investigation into the staff member¡¯s conduct with regard to the ostensible theft of cash from the office safe, reached agreements with him regarding repayment, and then sought initiation of criminal proceedings by filing a criminal complaint and delivering him to the local police. The UNAT found that because the underlying facts of the case involved his conduct as a United Nations staff member towards his employer, the UNDT should have been competent to review his application on the merits, had it been timely filed.

The UNAT...

The UNAT held that the UNRWA DT rightly identified that the standard of proof for placing the staff member on ALWOP was whether there was reasonable suspicion or reasonable grounds to believe that the staff member had committed the alleged misconduct.

The UNAT rejected the staff member¡¯s argument that his ex-wife¡¯s withdrawal of the complaint against him in a national court should have stopped all investigations against him. The UNAT noted that the national court had provided the case records to the Agency, and the Agency, following its complete assessment of the situation, can proceed with...

The UNAT upheld the UNRWA DT¡¯s determination of the former staff member¡¯s chances of selection for the position at one-fourth on alternative grounds. The UNAT held that the UNRWA DT appropriately considered the possibility that the Agency could have introduced additional candidates on an equivalency basis during a second review after the shortlisting phase. In particular, the UNRWA DT held that, since the sufficient number of candidates for a competitive exercise was normally between three to five candidates per vacancy, it was reasonable to expect that the Agency would have brought more...

The UNAT found that the decision not to select the staff member for TJO 161651 was lawful. It held that since the staff member did not challenge the cancellation of TJO 14924, under which the Administration initially advertised the position of Administrative Officer, that cancellation decision was not part of the contested decision under review. In any event, the UNAT determined that the Administration had the discretion to cancel TJO 149241 and re-advertise the position under TJO 161651 after the selected candidate withdrew her candidature. It was under no obligation to invite the second...

The UNAT held that the UNDT did not err in finding that the former staff member¡¯s change of title following a reclassification did not amount to an abolition or discontinuance of her post, rendering her termination of appointment unlawful.

The UNAT also determined that the UNDT did not err in awarding the former staff member compensation in lieu of two years¡¯ net base salary. In this regard, the UNAT emphasized that the UNDT correctly considered the fact that the former staff member¡¯s permanent appointment included a specific undertaking stating that she could only be terminated due to an...

The UNAT rejected the new evidence submitted for the first time on appeal, which sought to justify the late filing of the case by attributing it to the appellant¡¯s attorney¡¯s personal circumstances.

The UNAT was of the opinion that staff members must generally adhere to the specified time limits. However, in this case, the UNAT found that the UNDT had erred in fact and law in dismissing Mr. Khan¡¯s application as not receivable ratione temporis. It concluded that Mr. Khan¡¯s exceptional circumstances¡ªincluding severe flooding disrupting internet service and affecting his ability to access e...

The UNAT held that the UNRWA DT had appropriately concluded that Mr. Issa failed to submit a timely Request for Decision Review regarding the first of three months¡¯ non-payment of his salary. However, the UNAT held that, since each non-payment constitutes a separate administrative decision, Mr. Issa's Request for Decision Review regarding the second- and third-months¡¯ non-payment was timely, rendering his application partially receivable.

The UNAT further concluded however, that since Mr. Issa disregarded a directive circulated before his annual leave (when he was able to check his e-mail)...

Le TANU a estim¨¦ que le Tribunal n'avait pas commis d'erreur en concluant que la demande de l'agent n'¨¦tait pas recevable parce qu'il n'avait pas demand¨¦ l'¨¦valuation de la d¨¦cision contest¨¦e par l'encadrement dans le d¨¦lai l¨¦gal de 60 jours. Le TANU a d¨¦termin¨¦ que, puisque l'agent avait ¨¦t¨¦ inform¨¦ les 27 et 28 avril 2022 du rejet de sa demande d'¨¦valuation m¨¦dicale, il disposait d'un d¨¦lai de 60 jours ¨¤ compter de cette date pour introduire sa demande d'¨¦valuation par l'encadrement. Cependant, il n'a soumis sa demande au Groupe du contr?le hi¨¦rarchique que le 3 novembre 2022, puis au...

The UNAT held that the UNDT did not err in finding that the staff member¡¯s application was not receivable because he failed to request management evaluation of the contested decision within the 60-day statutory time limit. The UNAT determined that, since the staff member was notified on 27 and 28 April 2022 of the rejection of his request for medical evaluation, he had 60 days from that date to submit his request for management evaluation. However, he only submitted his request to the Management Evaluation Unit on 3 November 2022, and later to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on...

Le TANU a estim¨¦ que le TNDU n'avait pas commis d'erreur en concluant que la mesure disciplinaire impos¨¦e ¨¦tait l¨¦gale.
Le TANU a rejet¨¦ l'argument de l'ancien membre du personnel selon lequel la d¨¦cision de M¨¦decins sans fronti¨¨res (MSF) lui interdisant de collaborer avec l'association ¨¤ l'avenir ne pouvait ¨ºtre qualifi¨¦e de mesure disciplinaire, puisqu'elle lui avait ¨¦t¨¦ communiqu¨¦e alors qu'il n'¨¦tait plus employ¨¦ par l'association. Le TANU a estim¨¦ que cet argument n'¨¦tait pas recevable, car il avait d¨¦j¨¤ ¨¦t¨¦ pr¨¦sent¨¦ devant le TNDU.
En tout ¨¦tat de cause, le TANU a d¨¦termin¨¦ que la...

The UNAT held that the UNDT did not err in finding that the disciplinary measure imposed was lawful.

The UNAT rejected the former staff member¡¯s argument that the decision of Doctors Without Borders (DWB) prohibiting him from collaborating with the association in the future, could not be characterized as a disciplinary measure, since it was communicated to him after he was no longer employed by the association. The UNAT held that this argument was not admissible, as it had already been presented before the UNDT.

In any event, the UNAT determined that the decision from DWB constituted a...

Le Tribunal a conclu que le Tribunal n'avait pas commis d'erreur en estimant que l'administration avait ¨¦tabli que l'AAR avait divulgu¨¦ ill¨¦galement des informations confidentielles et qu'il avait ill¨¦galement omis de signaler un conflit d'int¨¦r¨ºts et de se r¨¦cuser.

Le Tribunal d'appel a ¨¦galement estim¨¦ que la mesure administrative impos¨¦e ¨¤ AAR ¨¦tait proportionn¨¦e ¨¤ sa faute et que le Tribunal n'avait pas commis d'erreur en accordant des dommages moraux pour le pr¨¦judice subi par AAR en raison du retard excessif dans l'ach¨¨vement de la proc¨¦dure disciplinaire.

Le Tribunal d'appel a donc...

The Appeals Tribunal concluded that the UNDT did not err in finding that the Administration had established that AAR had unlawfully disclosed confidential information and had unlawfully failed to disclose a conflict of interest and recuse himself.

The Appeals Tribunal was also satisfied that the administrative measure imposed on AAR was proportionate to his misconduct, and that the UNDT did not commit any error in awarding moral damages for the harm AAR incurred due to the undue delay in completing the disciplinary process.

The Appeals Tribunal therefore dismissed the appeals.

Le Tribunal d'appel a estim¨¦ que l'ajustement proportionnel des normes de charge de travail pour les services d'autor¨¦vision ¨¦tait une question qui relevait directement du pouvoir discr¨¦tionnaire de l'Administration. Le Tribunal d'appel s'est assur¨¦ que l'Administration avait suivi toutes les proc¨¦dures appropri¨¦es lors de l'adoption et de la mise en ?uvre de la d¨¦cision contest¨¦e, et le Tribunal a d¨¦termin¨¦ ¨¤ juste titre qu'il n'¨¦tait pas n¨¦cessaire de proc¨¦der ¨¤ des consultations avec la direction du personnel au niveau du d¨¦partement ou du bureau en ce qui concerne une d¨¦cision...

The Appeals Tribunal found that the proportional adjustment of workload standards for self-revision services was a matter that fell squarely within the Administration¡¯s discretionary authority. The Appeals Tribunal was satisfied that the Administration followed all proper procedures when taking and implementing the contested decision, and the UNDT properly determined that there was no requirement for staff management consultations at the departmental or office level in relation to a specific appealable administrative decision.

The Appeals Tribunal dismissed the appeal and affirmed Judgment...

Le Tribunal d'appel a estim¨¦ que M. Hampstead n'avait pas ¨¦tabli que l'UNDT avait commis des erreurs au sens de l'article 2, paragraphe 1, du Statut du Tribunal d'appel.
Le Tribunal a pris note ¨¤ juste titre des lacunes document¨¦es en mati¨¨re de performance sur trois cycles de performance, ainsi que du fait que la performance de M. Hampstead ne s'est pas am¨¦lior¨¦e malgr¨¦ les mesures correctives mises en place, telles que deux PIP, l'ajustement des d¨¦lais de production, et le retour d'information continu, les discussions sur la performance et la formation que M. Hampstead a re?ue au fil des...