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The practice of placing reliance upon recordings in initial fact finding exercises and interview notes of appointed investigators in an effort to establish gross misconduct warranting summary dismissal before the Tribunal is grossly inadequate and cannot establish the facts in issue. An investigator must be committed to ascertaining the facts of the case through relevant inquiry involving the questioning of witnesses, forensic evidence where necessary and identification and collection of relevant documentary evidence. The investigator¡¯s findings should be based on substantiated facts and...

The fact that the attempt to defraud the medical claims system was not successful did not diminish the Applicant¡¯s liability in having made a false claim, as such; his actions destroyed the faith of the Organization in the Applicant which was necessary for continuing employment relationship. Proportionality: Although comparison between other similar cases can be referred to, they should be treated with caution as every case turns on its own facts. In determining whether to lessen the imposed sanction, the Tribunal will consider mitigating circumstance that had not been previously considered....

The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT found that the policy or practice had no legal basis in any of the norms of the Organization and was thus unlawful. The Tribunal ordered the rescission of the policy in relation to the Applicant and moral damages of three months¡¯ net base salary. Enforcement of an unlawful policy or practice: Reports of the Fifth Committee do not carry the same legal force as General Assembly Resolutions. The Secretary-General is also not mandated, in the absence of an express statutory provision, to incorporate into a staff member¡¯s terms of employment any policy or recommendation from a Committee...

Impartiality of a judge is determined by two tests, subjective and objective. (Campos). The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT considered that the request for recusal was based on mere fact and no such conflict of interest or professional relationship existed between the honourable Judge and the two Thai nationals named.

The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT found that the application was not receivable as the Applicant had failed to take the mandatory first step of requesting management evaluation of the contested decision. However, it observed that while failure to request management evaluation denies the Applicant access to the Tribunal¡¯s jurisdiction at present, the Applicant was never formally notified in writing of the administrative decision or the reasons therefore. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that the situation in this case arose through an alleged mistake of the Administration and through no fault of the Applicant.

Application for suspension of action pending management evaluation in disciplinary matters: It is clear from a plain reading of article 2.2 of the Tribunal¡¯s Statute, article 13.1 of its Rules of Procedure and staff rule 11.2 that the two former provisions apply only where management evaluation is required. In the instant case, the contested decision is a disciplinary measure which can be challenged before the Tribunal without first seeking management evaluation. Thus, the Tribunal cannot rely on these provisions to order the requested suspension of action pending management evaluation...

Need to observe time-limits: It is for the staff member who sought management evaluation of a decision, once he/she has been informed that the Secretary-General issued his response, to take cognizance of the content of this response as soon as possible and ensure compliance with applicable deadlines.

Competence of decision-maker: Competence of the decision-maker is a cornerstone of the legality of an administrative decision. When the exercise by the Administration of its discretionary power is under judicial review, any lack of authority leads inevitably to the rescission of the contested decision.As this is an essential element for the legality of the contested decision, the authority of the decision-maker has to be assessed by the Tribunal on its own motion, regardless of the parties¡¯ views at any stage of the administrative and judicial proceedings.Delegation of authority: Exclusions...

Competence of decision-maker: Competence of the decision-maker is a cornerstone of the legality of an administrative decision. When the exercise by the Administration of its discretionary power is under judicial review, any lack of authority leads inevitably to the rescission of the contested decision.As this is an essential element for the legality of the contested decision, the authority of the decision-maker has to be assessed by the Tribunal on its own motion, regardless of the parties¡¯ views at any stage of the administrative and judicial proceedings.Delegation of authority: Exclusions...

Competence of decision-maker: Competence of the decision-maker is a cornerstone of the legality of an administrative decision. When the exercise by the Administration of its discretionary power is under judicial review, any lack of authority leads inevitably to the rescission of the contested decision.As this is an essential element for the legality of the contested decision, the authority of the decision-maker has to be assessed by the Tribunal on its own motion, regardless of the parties¡¯ views at any stage of the administrative and judicial proceedings.Delegation of authority: Exclusions...

Date of implementation of the contested decision: Although the Tribunal has taken different approaches with respect to the date of implementation of selection decisions pursuant to ST/AI/2010/3, a selection decision must be considered as implemented once the Organization receives the selected candidate¡¯s unconditional acceptance of the offer of appointment.

In view of the Applicant¡¯s submission, the case was found moot and the application was dismissed. The Applicant alleged that ±¬ÁÏÍøAMA reneged on an undertaking made in her previous application for suspension of action in May 2012, thus frustrating her temporary engagement. The Respondent submitted that the Administration had no objections to the Applicant going on a non-reimbursable loan, and that successful efforts were made to find the Applicant a temporary assignment with the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (¡°±¬ÁÏÍøMIT¡±). The Applicant subsequently filed a submission informing the...

For the Applicant to claim pecuniary damages arising from his being transferred, or the reprimand being withdrawn whilst he was subjected to the JDC process, he must establish that he suffered actual economic harm. The Applicant could, for instance, have done so by identifying a specific promotion which he missed out on. The Tribunal finds that the Applicant has provided limited evidence of his exclusion from consideration for other posts. The Tribunal finds that being investigated for misconduct and having been issued with an administrative reprimand is more than likely to have negatively...

The Applicant applied twice for the position of Director of Investigations, Office of Internal Oversight Services (¡°OIOS¡±) (¡°the Post¡±) at the D-2 level. The Post was first advertised in a vacancy announcement in 2008 and again in 2009. A selection panel set up by OIOS recommended him as the only qualified candidate for the Post in each instance. Neither of these recommendations was approved by the Special Review Group (¡°SRG¡±) and, as a result, no appointment was made to the Post. A third vacancy announcement was issued, for which the Applicant did not apply. The Applicant submits that he...

The Applicant was engaged in an unauthorized outside activity. The Applicant¡¯s unauthorized outside activity whilst providing her personal financial gain, did not result in an actual conflict of interest as defined by the applicable rule. The investigators had an obligation, in accordance with the universal principles of natural justice, to inform the Applicant of her right to the assistance of Counsel during investigations. The doctrine of proportionality is applicable in this case to reduce the Applicant¡¯s summary dismissal to a written censure in line with the Secretary- General¡¯s practice...

Starting date of the 90-day time limit to file an application: The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT Statute prescribes that an application before the Tribunal must be filed within 90 days following receipt of the Administration¡¯s response to the request for management evaluation. If the Administration replies after the response period for the management evaluation but before the expiry of the 90-day period, the 90-day period to file an application before the Tribunal starts running again from the date the response is given. Evaluation criteria: It is clear from ST/AI/2006/3/Rev.1 and the Guidelines for programme case...

The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT found that the Applicant contested the administrative decision after the 60 day deadline for requesting a management evaluation had passed. Her Application was therefore not receivable as the Tribunal is not competent to extend the deadline for a request for management evaluation.

The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT found that the Applicant¡¯s service should be deemed uninterrupted and continuous on a 100 series fixed-term contract. The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT found that the Applicant did not suffer any loss with respect to the delay of her family leave, but that she should be awarded USD1,200 as compensation for not receiving her home leave entitlement in December 2009. The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT rejected the Applicant¡¯s claims of emotional distress as unproven. The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT also found that the Applicant satisfied the eligibility criteria for consideration for conversion to a permanent appointment and should have been considered for it...

Sub judice: The sub judice rule restricts the publication of prejudicial information relating to proceedings that are current before a court or pending judicial consideration and determination. Publication of prejudicial information about a person will not attract liability for contempt if proceedings involving that person are not yet pending (although a publication in this situation may attract liability on other legal grounds, for example, a defamation action in the domestic courts). Publication of material on matters that are sub judice may result in contempt of court, punishable in many...

The Tribunal finds that jurisprudence does not constitute a new decisive fact.