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As a preliminary issue, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT did not follow the proper procedure when it allowed the Respondent to participate in the proceedings without a formal request for waiver of time limit for filing its answer and taking part in the trial. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that another significant irregularity took place during the proceedings before ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT, in light of which ±¬ÁÏÍøAT was compelled to annul the judgment and remand the case for a de novo consideration by a different ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT Judge, namely that ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT committed an error in procedure when it denied the Appellant¡¯s request for a copy of the...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT considered the Secretary-General¡¯s appeal. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT erred by concluding that ST/AI/2002/3 applied to ±¬ÁÏÍøICEF, as the ±¬ÁÏÍøICEF Handbook establishes the procedure that a staff member must follow should they wish to rebut the content of their performance report. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT noted that the principle articulated in Villamoran v. Secretary-General of the United Nations (2011-±¬ÁÏÍøAT-160), which holds that administrative issuances have greater legal authority over manuals such as the ±¬ÁÏÍøICEF Handbook, only where there is a conflict between guidelines and manuals and a properly promulgated...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT preliminarily dismissed the Appellant¡¯s Application for Confidentiality and then considered the merits of the Appeal, which contained three grounds. With respect to the first ground, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT did not err in concluding that due process was satisfied if the staff member could comment on anonymous witness statements providing evidence against him. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT noted that the reasons for withholding the identities of the victims and for not producing them at trial were contained in the OIOS Investigation Report that was sent to the Appellant, thus the conditions for the admissibility for...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT considered an appeal by the Appellant of judgment No. ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA/DT/2015/003. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant failed to demonstrate that ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT erred in any way when it dismissed her application finding it to be moot, an outcome which was a natural consequence of the administrative rescission of the impugned decision, circumstances that contemplated the staff member¡¯s claim and rights, solving the previous irregularity. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT noted that the Appellant¡¯s request to amend her application to seek compensation for material and moral damages was filed after she had received notification of the...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant, though entitled to receive a summary of the findings of the investigation report, was not entitled to receive a copy of the full investigation report without showing exceptional circumstances, which he did not do and ±¬ÁÏÍøAT, therefore, upheld the findings of ±¬ÁÏÍøDT on this point. On compensation, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT noted that the Appellant presented no evidence to prove that the violation of the three-month deadline undermined the investigation and the outcome of the complaint, or that he suffered actual prejudice. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Administration¡¯s offer of USD 1,000 was...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the decision to set up a fact-finding panel was not, in and of itself, a decision relating to the contractual rights of a staff member. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that such a decision was preliminary in nature and irregularities in connection with that decision, including alleged delay in reaching that decision, may only be challenged in the context of an appeal after the conclusion of the entire process. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT¡¯s conclusion that the application was receivable was without legal basis as was its award of compensation. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the matter under investigation was closed and the Appellant had not presented any cogent argument to show that there were exceptional circumstances that might otherwise have entitled him to the investigation report. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant was not entitled to receive a detailed copy of the investigation report. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that there was no evidence to support the argument that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT erred on questions of law and fact. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT judgment.

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT erred in concluding that the refusal by the former Executive Director to open an investigation into all the allegations raised violated ST/SGB/2008/5. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Administration has a degree of discretion as to how to conduct a review and assessment of a complaint and may decide whether to undertake a fact-finding investigation into all or some of the allegations. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT affirmed ±¬ÁÏÍøDT¡¯s conclusion that the former Executive Director did not comply with ST/SGB/2008/5 by hiring two consultants from outside the Organisation to conduct the investigation. Under ST/SGB/2008/5...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT considered two appeals by the Secretary-General against three judgments (judgment Nos. ±¬ÁÏÍøDT/2013/028, ±¬ÁÏÍøDT/2013/029 and ±¬ÁÏÍøDT/2013/076). ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that, generally speaking, appeals against a decision to initiate an investigation are not receivable as such a decision is preliminary in nature and does not, at that stage, affect the legal rights of the staff member. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that initiating an investigation is merely a step in the investigative process and it is not an administrative decision that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT is competent to review. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT erred on a question of law and exceeded its...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT considered both appeals by the Secretary-General and by Ms. Benfield-Laporte. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT affirmed ±¬ÁÏÍøDT¡¯s finding that the ASG/OHRM did not err in deciding that the staff member¡¯s complaint did not provide sufficient grounds to warrant a formal fact-finding investigation. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the ASG/OHRM has a degree of discretion as to how to conduct a review and assessment of a complaint and to decide whether an investigation regarding all or some of the charges is warranted. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that where there is no risk of undermining the investigation, it is a good practice to hear both sides in order to...