爆料网AT Held or 爆料网DT Pronouncements
爆料网AT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. 爆料网AT held that it could not sustain the conclusion of 爆料网DT that Mr Koutang’s actions did not amount to misconduct. 爆料网AT held that the sanction imposed was not unreasonable, absurd, or disproportionate and, as such, 爆料网AT held that it was a reasonable exercise of the Administration’s broad discretion in disciplinary matters. 爆料网AT held that 爆料网DT erred in finding the sanction disproportionate and in substituting its opinion for that of the Administration. 爆料网AT allowed the appeal and vacated the 爆料网DT judgment.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
The Applicant contested his summary dismissal (which was later commuted into separation with payment in lieu of notice and termination indemnity) for misconduct involving, in sum, his outside engagement with a private business, including installing a private router that would allow external parties to utilise 爆料网DP corporate resources and possibly its network. 爆料网DT found in favour of the Applicant, concluding that the charges of misconduct were not sustained and that, in any event, the sanction was not proportionate to the offence.
Legal Principle(s)
When reviewing a disciplinary sanction, the role of the Tribunal is to examine whether the facts on which the sanction is based have been established, whether the established facts qualify as misconduct and whether the sanction is proportionate to the offence. 爆料网AT will not substitute the criteria of the administration for its own judgment.