2015-��AT-510

��AT Held or ��DT Pronouncements

��AT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. ��AT held that the sanction imposed on Mr Cobarrubias was not unreasonable, absurd or disproportionate. ��AT held that it was a reasonable exercise of the Administration��s broad discretion in disciplinary matters, with which it would not lightly interfere. ��AT held that ��DT erred in finding the sanction disproportionate and in substituting its opinion for that of the Administration. ��AT vacated the ��DT judgment.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

Mr Cobarrubias contested the decision to impose upon him the disciplinary measure of separation from service, with compensation in lieu of notice and without termination indemnity, for misconduct in the form of storing emails containing pornographic, violent and otherwise inappropriate material. ��DT found that the alleged facts had been established but concluded that the sanction was disproportionate and substituted it for a lesser sanction.

Legal Principle(s)

It is not the role of the Tribunal to substitute its own decision for that of the Secretary-General.

Outcome

Appeal granted

OAJ prepared this case law summary for informational purposes only. It is no official record and should not be relied upon as an authoritative interpretation of the Tribunals' rulings. For the authoritative texts, please refer to the judgment or order rendered by the respective Tribunal. The Tribunals are the only bodies competent to interpret their respective judgments, as provided under Article 12(3) of the ��DT Statute and Article 11(3) of the ��AT Statute. Any inaccuracies in the publication are the sole responsibility of OAJ, which should be contacted directly for any correction requests. To provide comments, don't hesitate to get in touch with OAJ at oaj@un.org.

The judgment summaries were generally prepared in English. They were translated into French and are being reviewed for accuracy of the translation.

Applicants/Appellants

Cobarrubias

Entity

Case Number(s)

2014-582

Tribunal

��AT

Registry

New York

Date of Judgement

26 Feb 2015