Â鶹APP

The Tribunal found that the Applicant had had a break in service which disrupted the eligibility requirement of five years¡¯ continuous service with the Organization. Eligibility requirements: Whether a staff member is eligible for consideration has to be assessed against clear and objective criteria, which is not open to discretion. Break-in Service: In the context of the Â鶹APP, a break in service consists of a certain period of time between two contracts, governed by the Â鶹APP staff rules, during which a person is not employed by the Organization. Competence of decision...

The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management and the CRB correctly determined that it cannot be in the interest of the Organization nor of its operational activities to grant permanent appointments under the circumstances in force. UNDT rejected the Application to rescind the decision of the Respondent not to grant the him a permanent appointment. There was no indication that the ICTR was afforded delegation of authority to convert a staff member to a permanent appointment; Section 3.3 of SGB/2009/10 only gives power to the responsible officer of Human Resources at a duty...

The UNDT found that the decision that the Applicant was not eligible for consideration for conversion to a permanent appointment was lawful.

The Applicant was denied eligibility for conversion because in 2006 she had a break in service of eight days, which interrupted the continuity of her service. The UNDT found that the main issue in the case was whether the break in service in 2006 can be taken into account for the purpose of conversion to a permanent appointment. The UNDT found that the break in service that took place in 2006 shall not be taken into account because the Applicant was induced into taking it, without proper legal basis, as a condition for her employment in New York. The UNDT ordered rescission of the decision...

The Respondent contended that the allegations of sexual harassment had been established after a proper investigation, that the disciplinary measures were appropriate and proportionate and that the Applicant had agreed to the imposition of these disciplinary measures. The Tribunal found that: (1) The OHRM had mischaracterized the Applicant¡¯s offence as ¡°sexual harassment¡± rather than ¡°harassment¡± and failed to follow its own procedures in ¡°the Guidelines on consideration for conversion to permanent appointment of staff members of the Secretariat eligible to be considered¡±; (2) There was a...

It is not disputed by either party that the Applicant was not employed by the Organization during the one week period between the curtailment, requested by himself, of his employment with UNECA and his appointment at UNHQ. Furthermore, the Applicant ¡°does not seek to challenge the 2005 decision creating the break in service, but, [in light of the Tribunal¡¯s decision in Gomez], the later decision not to consider him eligible for conversion to permanent appointment on the basis of that earlier decision¡±. The Tribunal finds that the Applicant was ineligible for consideration for conversion to...

The Applicant specifically submits that the staff rules state that ¡°[c]ontinuity of service shall not be considered broken by periods of special leave¡± and the Respondent may not therefore deny his eligibility on the ground that his six months of special leave without pay resulted in him not having been employed for a continuous period of five years The UNDT rescinds the contested decision and finds that the Applicant is eligible for consideration for permanent appointment.

Neither DSS, OHRM, the CRB nor the ASG/OHRM conducted a reasoned analysis on how the date and the gravity of the disciplinary sanction impacted on the recommendation(s) and/or the decision not to grant him a permanent appointment. The Administration failed to apply its own Guidelines requiring that a mandatory review of the date and gravity of the disciplinary measure applied to the Applicant be conducted and that any resulting decision include a reasoned explanation thereto.

The Tribunal found that the decision regarding the Applicant¡¯s reinstatement has a crucial impact on the case because had his request to be reinstated be considered positively, his service with the Organization would have been considered continuous. The Tribunal ordered the Administration to decide on the request for reinstatement after a policy including the conditions for reinstatement is promulgated and to review, afterward, the decision to consider the Applicant ineligible for consideration for conversion to a permanent appointment. The Tribunal remanded the contested decision to the...

Binding force of UNAT judgments: Judgments of the Appeals Tribunal are binding upon the parties. Their binding effect is not restricted to the orders provided under the ¡°Judgment¡± section, but also extends to the other operative paragraphs, which set out the major considerations for the determinations made. Articulation of the interest of the Organization and the criteria for conversion: The interest of the Organization is a legitimate consideration to be taken into account when assessing the suitability of a staff member; however, as articulated in the relevant rules, it is ancillary to the...