爆料网AT Held or 爆料网DT Pronouncements
爆料网AT considered two appeals by the Secretary-General against three judgments (judgment Nos. 爆料网DT/2013/028, 爆料网DT/2013/029 and 爆料网DT/2013/076). 爆料网AT 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. 爆料网AT held that initiating an investigation is merely a step in the investigative process and it is not an administrative decision that 爆料网DT is competent to review. 爆料网AT held that 爆料网DT erred on a question of law and exceeded its competence in accepting the applications as receivable. 爆料网AT allowed the appeals and vacated judgment Nos. 爆料网DT/2013/028, 爆料网DT/2013/029 and 爆料网DT/2013/176.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
The Applicants contested the decisions to conduct an investigation into their alleged misconduct. In three judgments, 爆料网DT found the applications were receivable and found for the Applicants, awarding compensation for economic loss in the form of legal costs and for moral damages.
Legal Principle(s)
The key characteristic of an administrative decision subject to judicial review is that the decision must produce direct legal consequences affecting a staff member’s terms or conditions of appointment. 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 a staff member. Tribunals should not interfere with matters that fall within the Administration’s prerogatives, including its lawful internal processes, and the Administration must be left to conduct these processes in full and to finality.