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The Tribunal reviewed the evidence on record and found that the Organization followed the instructions provided by the Appeals Tribunal in Gueben et. al. 2016-±¬ÁÏÍøAT-692, and properly considered the Applicant¡¯s suitability for a permanent appointment in the reconsideration exercise that led to the contested decision of 17 March 2017. According to the evidence on file, the Administration assessed the Applicant¡¯s qualifications, competencies and transferable skills while taking into account the overall interests of the Organization. Considering that ±¬ÁÏÍøKART is a downsizing entity, the Tribunal...

The Tribunal recalled that a request for management evaluation is a sine qua non for bringing an application except in cases where the advice was obtained from technical bodies, as determined by the Secretary-General, or of a decision taken at Headquarters in New York to impose a disciplinary or non-disciplinary measure. In the present case, the Applicant did not request management evaluation of the contested administrative decision. Accordingly, the application was dismissed as not receivable.

The Tribunal refused to entertain the application. It found that the Applicant had submitted a most confused and inarticulate application. The application had many flaws. The Tribunal, therefore, determined that a summary judgment was appropriate and the application was accordingly refused.

The Tribunal, after hearing evidence and submissions but before reaching a determination on the merits of the case save for a finding of procedural error, decided that this was an appropriate case in which to invoke art. 10.4 of the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT Statute to seek the concurrence of the Secretary-General to remand the case for institution or correction of the required procedure. The Tribunal considered it appropriate to approach the Secretary-General directly and not through Counsel who represents the SecretaryGeneral as the Respondent in this case. The Tribunal considered that such an approach would: (i...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT noted that the Order under appeal was an interlocutory decision because it struck out the matter, which, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT clarified, did not mean that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT had dismissed the application. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT dismissed the appeal as not receivable, noting that the Appellant could supplement her application with ±¬ÁÏÍøDT within 90 days of the date of the publication of the ±¬ÁÏÍøAT judgment.

±¬ÁÏÍøAT dismissed the Appellant¡¯s motion for leave to file additional pleadings on the basis that he had not demonstrated any exceptional circumstances. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT rejected the Appellant¡¯s request for costs as there was no reason to believe that the submissions of the Secretary-General were not made in good faith or were an abuse of process. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant did not have a right to promotion but only a right to be considered for promotion. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant received full and fair consideration for the position. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT also affirmed ±¬ÁÏÍøDT¡¯s application of the priority consideration...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the staff member had not voluntarily absented himself from duty. Rather, he reported for duty throughout at the office he had been re-assigned to, his whereabouts were known to the Agency and he clearly did not intend to abandon his position. As to the staff member¡¯s refusal to report to his original position as instructed, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that his conduct might have been a performance or conduct issue open to censure or discipline. However, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Agency failed to determine if the conduct constituted insubordination and, if so, a proportional sanction. Instead, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held...

Noting that the position in question remained vacant, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the decision to leave the position vacant was an exercise of the discretionary authority of ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT and that there was no procedural irregularity or error of law within the exercise of that discretion. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant did not meet the required burden to be heard on appeal, namely, he failed to identify any of the prescribed grounds of appeal. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant was estopped from raising new arguments on appeal with respect to priority consideration and facts on enrolment which were not argued before...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the ICJ had breached its duty to protect the staff member against harassment by another staff member. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that, once senior management had become aware of the incidents, it should have envisaged that similar incidents could happen in the future, and it failed to take the appropriate measures to protect its staff. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT awarded USD 12,500 to compensate the staff member for the harm suffered, and especially the harm to her reputation during the course of the investigations. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT also awarded 3,630 Euros in legal fees.

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that it was clear from the record that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT did not consider the whole of the evidence in arriving at its decisions and that its determination of the facts was unsustainable. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT based its finding of bias on selected extracts of a report from the Ethics Office which neither positively established bias nor explained how, if at all, the potential bias to which it referred was connected to the selection process. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the need for factual determinations based on the whole of the relevant evidence required the case to be remanded to the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT for a rehearing de...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT recalled its jurisprudence that where a response to a management evaluation request is not received, a staff member has 90 days from when the response is due to file an application to ±¬ÁÏÍøDT. If a response is received after the expiration of that 90-day time limit, the receipt of the response does not reset the clock for filing an application with ±¬ÁÏÍøDT. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that, since the MEU¡¯s response was received after the expiration of the 90-day period, it did not reset the clock for the staff member to file an application. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT therefore initially made no error of law in...

The Appellant¡¯s appeal primarily challenged the decision of ±¬ÁÏÍøDT not to hold an oral hearing, purportedly denying him a fair trial and due process. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT noted that the reason for the decisions to temporarily limit the authority of the Applicant pending a management review was not in contention. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the withdrawal of the delegations did not unduly detract from the Appellant¡¯s core functions, though his discretion to interact with various stakeholders was significantly restricted and he was constrained by a firmer level of accountability and closer scrutiny of his performance. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Administration was not under an obligation to pursue a recruitment procedure once begun by filling the post. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the contested administrative decision not to carry the recruitment process through to appointment, but rather to readvertise, was a valid and lawful exercise of the Administration¡¯s discretion, based on sound reasons inextricably linked to the interest of the service, namely the situation in Burundi, the need for additional skills, and compliance with the relevant legal instruments governing the recruitment procedure. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the contested...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant¡¯s request for management evaluation was time-barred and that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT correctly ruled that his application was not receivable ratione materiae. Whilst the Appellant could and did request further information about the recruitment exercise, such request did not in any way impact the statutory time limit contained in Staff Rule 11. 2(c). In addition, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the additional evidence the Appellant sought to submit on appeal bore no relevance to the case and rejected his request. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the ±¬ÁÏÍøDT judgment.

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT did not make any errors of law and fact when it concluded that the Administration, having issued the offer of appointment on the basis of a factual error to an ineligible candidate who was legally barred from being recruited, had a duty to withdraw the offer, as soon as the mistake was discovered; and that the Administration was legally precluded from issuing a letter of appointment to the Appellant. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that, on the basis that it had concluded that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT did not make any errors of law and fact, it was unnecessary to examine the other grounds of appeal advanced by the...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the appeal was entirely without merit. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT was correct to find that the facts supporting the disciplinary measure had been established and to conclude that those facts amounted to misconduct. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT supported the reasoning of ±¬ÁÏÍøDT in rejecting the Appellant¡¯s attempts at exoneration, namely that factors such as whether or not her husband was qualified for the job or the other candidate secured another position did not change the existence of a conflict of interest and the way in which the integrity of the process was compromised. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT correctly found...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the Appellant had demonstrated no exceptional circumstances which would justify ±¬ÁÏÍøAT exercising its discretion to file additional pleadings. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that an application before ±¬ÁÏÍøDT without a prior request for management evaluation can only be receivable if the contested administrative decision has been taken pursuant to advise from a technical body, or if the administrative decision has been taken at Headquarters in New York to impose a disciplinary or non-disciplinary measure pursuant to Staff Rule 10.2 following the completion of a disciplinary process. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that while the ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT decision could have had an indirect impact on the Appellant¡¯s terms of appointment or contract, a direct effect is needed in order to allow a staff member to contest an adverse administrative decision. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the fact that ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA granted the change of modality of contract to the other individual did not have any bearing on the outcome of the ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT decision, because the application was dismissed on receivability grounds. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøRWA DT did not err in any of its factual findings resulting in a manifestly unreasonable decision. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that...

As a preliminary issue, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the new evidence attached to the cross-appeal by the Respondent (the Appellant on Cross-Appeal and the Applicant before ±¬ÁÏÍøDT) was not admissible. On the receivability of the cross-appeal, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that it was not receivable since the Respondent was the prevailing party at the first instance level and he does not claim to broaden the order of ±¬ÁÏÍøDT, but just to maintain it by means of an additional argument that has already been rejected by ±¬ÁÏÍøDT. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT did not err in its judgment, although ±¬ÁÏÍøAT differed in its reasoning. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the...

±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the decision not to short-list the Appellant was an internal step within the selection process and not an administrative decision and that ±¬ÁÏÍøDT should have only received her application against the selection decision. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the appeal was defective in that the Appellant did not clearly define the grounds of appeal as required under Article 2. 1 of the ±¬ÁÏÍøAT Statute, however, ±¬ÁÏÍøAT considered the appeal on the basis that the Appellant was self-represented. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT rejected the Appellant¡¯s allegation that the case management of ±¬ÁÏÍøDT was flawed. ±¬ÁÏÍøAT held that the re...