2015-��AT-518/Corr.1

��AT Held or ��DT Pronouncements

��AT held that ��DT 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. ��AT 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. ��AT affirmed ��DT��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, the responsible official must entrust the fact-finding investigation to a panel of two persons from the department who are trained for that purpose or, if that is not possible, appoint two persons from the roster maintained for that purpose by OHRM. ��AT remanded the matter to the former Executive Director to establish a new fact-finding panel in accordance with ST/SGB/2008/5. However, ��AT determined that the staff member had not experienced any inordinate delay regarding the handling of her complaint which would merit the award of damages and vacated ��DT��s award of CHF8,000 in moral damages.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

The Applicant contested the refusal by the former Executive Director of OAJ to open an investigation into all the allegations of harassment and abuse of authority she alleged had been committed by her supervisor and one of her former colleagues. ��DT determined that the refusal by the former Executive Director to open an investigation into all the allegations violated ST/SGB/2008/5. ��DT determined that the former Executive Director had failed to comply with ST/SGB/2008/5 by hiring two consultants from outside the Organisation to conduct the investigation. ��DT ordered that the contested decision be rescinded and ordered the Administration to pay the staff member CHF 8,000 as moral damages.

Legal Principle(s)

The Administration has a degree of discretion as to how to conduct a review and assessment of complaints filed under ST/SGB/2008/5 and may decide whether to undertake a fact-finding investigation into all or some of the allegations. The investigation must be conducted by a panel of two persons from the department who received the internal investigation training provided by OIOS or, if that is not possible, from the roster maintained for that purpose by OHRM.

Outcome

Appeal granted in part

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

Oummih

Entity

Case Number(s)

Tribunal

Registry

Date of Judgement