51ÁÔÆæ

Non-renewal: A non-renewal decision can be taken on the basis of a projected reduction of workload; in assessing future workload, the Administration necessarily has to make some prognosis, on the basis of the elements available at the time of the contested decision. Factual developments relating to the future workload after the date of the decision have to remain out of consideration, and do not have an impact on the legality of the decision under review. Extraneous factors: The burden of proof with respect to extraneous considerations falls on the Applicant. Ultra vires: A non-renewal...

Non-renewal: A non-renewal decision can be based on a mere reduction of work, based on a workload prognosis¡ªmade at the time of the decision. This can lead to a situation where a regular budget post remains vacant without actually being abolished. There is no legal obligation for the Administration to renew a staff member¡¯s FTA based solely on the fact that the respective post is funded. On the contrary, it may be in the best interest of the Organization to save money instead of using available resources at all cost. In assessing future workload, the Administration necessarily has to make some...

Formal requirements: It is justified to request a complainant to conform to the requirements of format and content of secs. 5.11 and 5.13 of ST/SGB/2008/5. However, as a matter of fairness, the same degree of exigency must be required from the different complainants. Purpose and material scope of ST/SGB/2008/5: ST/SGB/2008/5 was promulgated to address very specific kinds of conduct, defined in its sec. 1. Re-characterizing allegations of a different nature and having them investigated under the bulletin is a misuse of the procedure. Investigating a complaint and its counter-complaint together...

UNAT rejected the request for an oral hearing finding no need for further clarification of the issues. UNAT held that the Appellant failed to identify the grounds for his appeal, considering it defective. UNAT agreed with UNRWA DT that the Appellant had not complied with Staff Rule 111.3, which prescribes that the staff member is required to appeal to the JAB within thirty days. UNAT held that UNRWA DT¡¯s conclusion that the application was not receivable did not present any errors of law or fact. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNRWA DT judgment.

Receivability: The filing of a recourse application as per UNHCR Promotions Policy suspends the time limit to submit a request for management evaluation of a decision not to grant promotion only if it is timely done; otherwise, the deadline for requesting management evaluation runs from the date of notification of the initial decision, unless an extension of time is granted or the deadline is waived by the competent authority.

Receivability: The Tribunal observed that the Applicant had the option of lodging a formal complaint of gender discrimination under ST/SGB/2008/5 but chose not to. However this does not prevent her from alleging, as she does, that the classification decision which she is challenging was ill-motivated by reason of gender discrimination. The Tribunal concluded that in determining whether the decision to abolish her post was ill-motivated it is competent to examine each of the Applicant¡¯s allegations against the relevant facts and circumstances.

The UNDT found that the main legal issue was whether ST/AI/2011/6 (Mobility and hardship scheme) applied to the counting of assignments that the Applicant undertook before the instruction went into effect on 1 July 2011. The UNDT found that ST/AI/2011/6 could not be applied retroactively to assignments that took place before it went into effect. The UNDT further found that the revised staff rule 4.8(b), which allows for different counting of the Applicant¡¯s assignments, was applicable only to assignments starting on or after 1 July 2009, and was not retroactively applicable to prior...

Receivability: The Tribunal observed that there is a difference between a contested administrative decision and the grounds relied on to impugn the decision and noted that neither of the two issues remanded for the consideration of the Tribunal was included in the list of administrative decisions which the Applicant requested the MEU to review. The Tribunal concluded that although the Applicant raised the issue of the non-conversion of his temporary appointment to a fixed-term appointment, he did so as a ground for contesting the specified decisions. He did not identify this issue as a...

The UNDT found that MINUSTAH erred when it excluded the Applicant from the comparative review process. The UNDT found that process should have included all staff for all available posts at the Mission after retrenchment, which was not done in this case. The UNDT found that the Applicant¡¯s rights were breached in that she was not reviewed by the comparative review panel against all the remaining posts in the new mission structure. The UNDT found, however, that the Applicant¡¯s contract expired and was not terminated. The UNDT found that the decision to separate the Applicant was lawful since it...

Material facts: The Tribunal noted that the decision letter, the minutes of the UNCB meetings and the evidence of the Secretary of the UNCB showed that the UNCB acted on the understanding that in spite of its date, the Applicant¡¯s 7 December 2010 inventory list had been prepared after the event and that there was no evidence of the Applicant¡¯s personal possessions that predated it. The Tribunal found that such evidence existed and was available to the UNCB. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the UNCB did not take into account all material facts relating to the Applicant¡¯s claim for...

rocedurally flawed because the ASG/OCSS failed to give the Applicant an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised in the HCC Note and to comment on any perceived concerns regarding his performance. It was also unclear from the written decisions what specific conclusions the ASG/OCSS had reached about the Applicant¡¯s responsibility for the issues raised in the HCC Note. In addition, the Tribunal was not convinced that the contested decisions would have been justified notwithstanding the breaches of due process and procedure.

The UNDT found that the Applicant¡¯s request was not properly considered in that irrelevant factors were taken into consideration whereas relevant factors were not. In particular, no proper consideration was given to the individual circumstances and attributes that may have warranted a legitimate exception. Further, the reasoning supporting the decision was flawed. The UNDT found that no reasonable explanation was provided as to why the granting of this exception would have been prejudicial to other staff. The UNDT awarded the Applicant the sum of USD3,000 as compensation for loss of chance of...

Consultation prior to the contested decision being taken: The Applicant alleged that he was not consulted prior to the contested decision being taken. The Tribunal was satisfied however that the Applicant had written notice of the impending decision from as early as 7 January 2013 and that from this date he engaged in extensive correspondence with the Administration about this issue. The Tribunal held that the Applicant was consulted and that such consultation met the test set out previously in Rees UNDT/2011/156, Gehr UNDT/2011/142 and Adundo et al. UNDT/2012/188 Legitimate expectation of...

Consultation prior to the contested decision being taken: The Applicant alleged that he was not consulted prior to the contested decision being taken. The Tribunal was satisfied however that the Applicant had written notice of the impending decision from as early as 7 January 2013 and that from this date he engaged in extensive correspondence with the Administration about this issue. The Tribunal held that the Applicant was consulted and that such consultation met the test set out previously in Rees UNDT/2011/156, Gehr UNDT/2011/142 and Adundo et al. UNDT/2012/188 Legitimate expectation of...

The UNDT found that the five cases are not receivable due to the Applicant¡¯s failure 51ÁÔÆæ the relevant statutory requirements, including with regard to the filing of his management evaluation requests and the deadlines for the filing of an application with the Tribunal. The UNDT found that in the cases concerning separation (Cases No. 011 and 028), the Applicant failed to file an application with the Tribunal within the statutory period of 90 days from the date of expiration of time for a response to his management evaluation request. Pursuant to Neault 2013-UNAT-345, MEU¡¯s belated...

The Tribunal concluded that there were critical procedural irregularities that rendered the investigation and the contested decision unlawful. Procedural irregularities: The Tribunal concluded that: (i) in the light of the findings of the Inspection Mission, which investigated the same complaints as the Investigation Team, it was an abuse of discretion on the part of the Respondent to establish a second body and labeling it an Investigation Team to carry out the same exercise that had been carried out by the Inspection Mission; (ii) the Investigation Team committed a number of procedural...

The Tribunal found that the Applicant did not file a request for management evaluation prior to the filing of his application. Therefore, his application was dismissed as manifestly not receivable.

The Tribunal concluded that there were procedural violations that rendered the investigation and the contested decision unlawful. The Tribunal ordered rescission of the decision or compensation of six months¡¯ net base salary in lieu of rescission. Due process and procedural fairness: The Tribunal concluded that the investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and the subsequent disciplinary process were in breach of the procedures required by ST/SGB/2008/5 and the IGO Guidelines for Conducting Investigations and that these procedural errors were sufficiently grave to render the...

Receivability ratione personae: The Tribunal is not competent to hear applications filed by a (former) individual contractor, who was not a staff member, a former staff member or a person making claims in the name of an incapacitated or deceased staff member; such an application is not receivable, ratione personae.Receivability ratione materiae: The Tribunal is only competent to consider applications against an administrative decision for which an applicant has timely requested management evaluation. Failure to file a timely request for management evaluation, when required, makes the...

Binding force of UNAT judgments: Judgments of the Appeals Tribunal are binding upon the parties. Their binding effect is not restricted to the orders provided under the ¡°Judgment¡± section, but also extends to the other operative paragraphs, which set out the major considerations for the determinations made. Articulation of the interest of the Organization and the criteria for conversion: The interest of the Organization is a legitimate consideration to be taken into account when assessing the suitability of a staff member; however, as articulated in the relevant rules, it is ancillary to the...