51ÁÔÆæ

Since the Applicant remains on special leave with full pay pending management evaluation at the time of the judgment, the termination decision remains suspended and has not yielded effects on the Applicant¡¯s terms of appointment. The application is therefore not receivable. The action or inaction of the Administration to find an alternative post for the Applicant after he was first placed on special leave with full pay is not receivable because the Applicant did not include this ground in his request for management evaluation.

Initial assessment of roster candidates The Applicant raised several questions relating to the initial assessment process, which the Tribunal reviewed in turn. The Tribunal noted that under sec. 7.5 of ST/AI/2010/3, the Administration has broad discretion on how to assess shortlisted candidates. While the OHRM Guidelines encourage hiring managers to interview roster candidates in a less formal setting, that is not the only way to assess roster candidates. Therefore, the Tribunal found that the administration of a written assessment and an informal interview for the purpose of a roster...

The Tribunal found that the application insofar as it related to a 26 September 2019 email was not receivable ratione materiae because that decision was not final. It did not produce a direct legal impact on the Applicant¡¯s legal status or have a legal effect on his terms of appointment or contract of employment. The applicable legal decision was a Circular dated 18 October 2019. That Circular confirmed to the Applicant that he had not been selected for any of the posts he had applied for in 2019. The Tribunal found the application irreceivable in relation to three decisions contested by the...

UNDT held that the application was receivable ratione materiae under Staff Rule 11.2(c) and Article 81.(c) of the UNDT Statute. The Applicant submitted and Appendix D claim on 4 December 2019 and a decision was made and communicated to him on 10 December 2019. He submitted that decision for management evaluation in accordance with Staff Rule 11.2(c) and Article 8.1(c) of the UNDT Statute. UNDT held that the 6 June 2019 email, in which the Advisory Board on Compensation Claims (ABCC) thanked the Applicant for bringing a matter to its attention, was not in response to a compensation claim by the...

Considering that the Secretary-General has broad discretion in matters of staff selection, the Administration can include more restrictive and yet reasonable criteria in the job opening for the evaluation of candidates. Based on the evidence on file, the Tribunal finds that the assessment was conducted properly and that the Applicant¡¯s qualifications were fully and fairly considered in accordance with relevant law. As the Applicant was not substantially equal or superior to those of competing male candidates, her non-selection did not violate ST/AI/1999/9.

The Tribunal is satisfied that the Applicant acted diligently with respect to the filing of his request for management evaluation and met the deadlines set forth by the MEU. This is particularly relevant as the reason for the elapsed time to file such request was the attempt at informal resolution of the dispute under the auspices of the UNOMS. The application is receivable ratione materiae. As the parties entered mediation before the Applicant¡¯s filing of a request for management evaluation, the applicable provision for the calculation of the 90-day deadline to file an application is art. 8.1...

The Tribunal found that the Applicant had filed the application without awaiting a response to his request for management evaluation. In view of this, the Tribunal found the application not receivable and dismissed it.

The Administration¡¯s decision to redeploy the Applicant to Nairobi was subject to the condition that he be medically cleared. This condition has not been met to date, and consequently, the decision has not been implemented. Therefore, none of the challenged administrative decisions have yielded any direct legal consequences in the Applicant¡¯s terms of appointment, which remain unchanged. The applications are therefore non-receivable ratione materiae. The Applicant appealed this administrative decision before the Tribunal before MEU¡¯s deadline to respond to his request for management evaluation...

The Applicant¡¯s attempt to hug V01 did not on its own qualify as an unwelcome sexual advance or request for sexual favour or verbal or physical conduct or gesture of a sexual nature or any other behaviour of a sexual nature. The Applicant¡¯s asking for V01¡¯s room number on multiple occasions did not constitute sexual harassment. The facts did not establish sexual harassment as defined in ST/SGB/2008/5 and as interpreted in various jurisprudence. The Respondent¡¯s investigations were skewed toward finding a case for sexual harassment regardless of the inadequacy of evidence to substantiate the...

In the absence of any evidence of ongoing mediation efforts or request for suspension of deadline to file an application, the Tribunal is satisfied that the Applicant, having filed his application outside of the statutory deadline. In any event, given that the contested administrative decision was notified to the Applicant on 3 April 2019, the request for management evaluation of 8 September 2019 would have missed the 60-day deadline set in staff rule 11.2 (c) to request management evaluation. Given that settlement discussions are confidential in nature, it is the parties¡¯ responsibility to...

The Applicant¡¯s appeal against the decision to place her on administrative leave is not receivable since she failed to file a request for management evaluation as required. The Tribunal found that on the preponderance of the evidence, the Administration failed to demonstrate that the Applicant shouted at two staff members as charged. It was only established that the Applicant ¡°expressed irritation¡± toward one staff member and she ¡°lost her cool¡± and ¡°spoke sharply¡± to another staff member. The Tribunal found that these behavior did not amount to harassment or abuse of authority and thus did...

The Tribunal finds that the Applicants were misled in that they were not clearly informed, despite their inquiry, that their non-participation in the written test would be taken into consideration in the evaluation of their candidacies. Thus, the Administration violated its duty to act transparently and in good faith with the Applicants. The Tribunal finds that the Administration cannot reasonably take into consideration the performance of a staff member in separate recruitment exercises, even less so when such exercises took place several years prior. The performance in prior selection...

The email identified by the Applicant as the contested administrative decision does not constitute a fresh decision but a mere restatement of a previous email. It therefore cannot be considered to produce consequences on the legal order and is therefore not a challengeable administrative decision. The Applicant failed to contest the assignment of her current functions when notified to her. Therefore, the Applicant would be barred from contesting at this point that such assignment was in non-compliance with her contractual rights or conditions of employment.

Have the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based been established? The evidence on record, including the investigation report, the coherent hearsay evidence pointing to a pattern of behaviour, the consistency of the witness statements, the Applicant¡¯s contradictory statements, and the inherent probabilities of the situation in the working and living conditions, cumulatively constitute a clear and convincing concatenation of evidence establishing, with a high degree of probability, the acts of sexual harassment. Do the established facts legally amount to misconduct? The Tribunal finds...

The Applicant, a UNHCR staff member in between assignments (¡°SIBA¡±), was placed on SLWOP after having exhausted a nine-month period on Special Leave With Full Pay (¡°SLWFP¡±). The Tribunal reviewed the legality of the contested decision in light of the arguments put forward by the Applicant. Is the contested decision consistent with staff rule 5.3? The Tribunal found that the circumstances for the placement of SIBAs on SLWOP are per se exceptional and, consequently, the text of para. 139 of the RAAI is consistent with staff rule 5.3. Staff rule 5.3(f) sets the general principle that a staff...

1)Whether the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based have been established: Transmission of pornographic images: Regardless of the Applicant¡¯s intent, the Tribunal found that it is established by clear and convincing evidence that he transmitted pornographic images (images of male genitalia) to and from his UN Women email account. Incidents involving Mr. SL: Considering the entire evidence, the Tribunal found Mr. SL¡¯s accounts credible which were corroborated by other evidence. It was established by clear and convincing evidence that the Applicant inappropriately touched Mr. SL and...

Was the decision to abolish the Applicant¡¯s post lawful? Given that the role of the Tribunal is not to decide whether the Administration chose the best course of action among those available to it and in the absence of evidence of illicit motive, the Tribunal finds that the decision to abolish the Applicant¡¯s post was lawful. The Tribunal finds that the Administration has given reasons for the non-renewal of the Applicant¡¯s contract and has shown that the decision was neither arbitrary nor improper. Did the Applicant have a right to ¡°return to work¡± at the completion of her maternity leave...

The Tribunal held that there was no breach of the applicable procedures in the selection process. The Administration acted in accordance with the UNIFIL guidelines for the selection of staff members. The Applicant was clearly given a full and fair consideration as demonstrated by the fact that she advanced through the process until the final stage. Accordingly, the application was dismissed.

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that UNDT was correct in its finding that the decision to terminate the Appellant¡¯s continuing appointment was unlawful as its purported basis (insufficient funds) did not exist. UNAT held that it was not necessary for it to deal with the issue of whether UNDT erred in its finding that the Administration failed 51ÁÔÆæ its obligation of retention. UNAT held that the abolition of the post due to financial reasons did not subsist for judicial review. On the Secretary-General¡¯s argument that UNDT had erred in finding Mr Nugroho...

The Secretary-General appealed the UNDT judgment as it related to the non-renewal decision only. UNAT held that a shifting onus of proof was appropriate where the non-renewal decision was based on a lack of funds. UNAT found nothing objectionable with the UNDT¡¯s reference to the burden or onus of proof resting with the Secretary-General in the circumstances of the case. UNAT held that UNDT did not err in concluding that the Secretary-General failed to establish by evidence that the financial situation of the UN body which had engaged Ms Loose at the time of the separation was still...