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The Appeals Tribunal granted the Secretary-General¡¯s appeals, dismissed Mr. Heurtematte¡¯s appeal and reversed the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT Judgments.

The Appeals Tribunal found that the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT¡¯s largely speculative grounds for concluding ulterior motives by ±¬ÁÏÍø Women were not justified, especially when compared to the compelling contemporaneous reasons for the abolition, i.e. the fact that ±¬ÁÏÍø Women no longer had a physical office in Panama, that the staff was working from home, and that the motor vehicles had been sold. The ±¬ÁÏÍøDT went too far in reaching its own speculative conclusions why and how ±¬ÁÏÍø Women...

The ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the creation of the position of Deputy Special Representative (DSR), undertaken as part of the implementation of the recommendations to restructure the oPt Office, constituted an administrative decision of a general nature. It further concluded that although the newly established ToR for the DSR position transferred to the incumbent some duties and responsibilities that were previously part of the staff member¡¯s Terms of Reference (ToR), this reallocation alone was insufficient to conclude that the creation of the position of DSR produced direct legal consequences for the...

The Tribunal held that the decision to create the Deputy Special Representative ("DSR") post did not have any direct adverse consequences for the Applicant, who remained in employment, with the same post and ToRs; in other terms, by the establishment of the DSR post, the Applicant¡¯s role, duties and responsibilities remained unaffected.

The Tribunal held that the Applicant had failed to identify a contestable administrative decision adversely affecting the terms and conditions of her appointment and that therefore her challenge of the DSR post was not receivable ratione materiae.

As to the...

The ±¬ÁÏÍøAT noted that the essence of the administrative decision had been that the staff member was not entitled to cashed-up unused annual leave from a second appointment taken up within 12 months of relinquishing a first appointment after which such leave had been commutated.

The ±¬ÁÏÍøAT observed that the staff member¡¯s request for management evaluation referred to the Administration¡¯s alleged ¡°continued failure¡± to compensate him the commutation of annual leave. The ±¬ÁÏÍøAT found that the reference reinforced a conclusion that it had been the consistent decision conveyed to him over several months...

Rescission and in lieu compensation under art. 10.5(a) of the Dispute Tribunal¡¯s Statute

Considering that the evidence provided by the Respondent showed that the duration of most of the former renewals of the Applicant¡¯s fixed-term appointment including the last regular renewal was for a duration of one year and that there is no expectation of renewal for a fixed-term appointment, the Tribunal determined that the amount of in lieu compensation must be equal to one year¡¯s net base salary.

Compensation for harm under art. 10.5(b) of the Dispute Tribunal¡¯s Statute

The Tribunal reviewed the...

The ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the staff member¡¯s argument that the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT applied the incorrect standard of proof is unsubstantiated, as the main facts of the case were undisputed by both parties. She had admitted having used ±¬ÁÏÍø Womens¡¯ UPS account to send two private shipments abroad, without mentioning any prior authorization. The aggravating and mitigating elements reviewed by the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT were by nature peripheral to the sanction imposed. The ±¬ÁÏÍøAT found that even if it was not appropriate for the Administration to use a prior act of possible misconduct as an aggravating factor (as it was not previously...

None of the documents submitted by the REspondent had the official or authoritative character of a budgetary and/or financial record to demonstrate how the Applicant¡¯s post was established and funded and¡ªby a subsequent exclusion¡ªalso showed that the post had been abolished (see, similarly, the Dispute Tribunal¡¯s non-appealed judgment in Quatrini ±¬ÁÏÍøDT/2020/043). Also, nowhere in any of the documentation is it implied that the mandate of ±¬ÁÏÍø Women¡¯s office had changed in a way that would disallow the employment of a driver at 3 level of the General Service staff category (¡°G-3¡±). The Respondent...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT found that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT had not addressed the Appellant¡¯s request for an extension of time but had rather converted sua sponte the request into an incomplete application and summarily adjudged the application as not receivable. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT could not have converted sua sponte the Appellant¡¯s request for more time into an application. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT had not afforded the Appellant the opportunity to file an application and had committed several procedural errors, exceeded its jurisdiction and competence, and violated the Appellant¡¯s due process rights. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT vacated the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT judgment and...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT found that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT had not addressed the Appellant¡¯s request for an extension of time but had rather converted sua sponte the request into an incomplete application and summarily adjudged the application as not receivable. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT could not have converted sua sponte the Appellant¡¯s request for more time into an application. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT had not afforded the Appellant the opportunity to file an application and had committed several procedural errors, exceeded its jurisdiction and competence, and violated the Appellant¡¯s due process rights. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT vacated the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT judgment and...

The Appeals Tribunal found that Mr. Karkara failed to show that the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT¡¯s assessment of the evidence had resulted in a manifestly unreasonable decision. It also found that the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT did not make any errors with regard to the admissibility of witnesses. The ±¬ÁÏÍøAT further found that the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT did not commit any procedural error, and Mr. Karkara¡¯s allegations of procedural irregularities did not put the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT¡¯s findings into doubt. Accordingly, the ±¬ÁÏÍøAT agreed that there was clear and convincing evidence of sexual abuse and exploitation by Mr. Karkara. The ±¬ÁÏÍøAT also held that the sanction of...