UNDT/2013/163, Applicant
The application was withdrawn by the Applicant. The Applicant's request for redaction was granted in part and his name to be redacted from the judgment.
The application was withdrawn by the Applicant. The Applicant's request for redaction was granted in part and his name to be redacted from the judgment.
The withdrawal request was filed more than two years after the initial application and prior to it the Applicant never requested a joinder of the present case and Case No. UNDT/NY/2012/070. The Applicant did not present sufficient legal grounds to grant his request for joinder. Although the Tribunal no longer needs to make a determination on the merits, the present decision represents a final disposal of the matter and the Tribunal will consider it withdrawn in finality, including on the merits. The application is dismissed in its entirety without liberty to reinstate. There are no exceptional...
Premature filing of an Application: The Tribunal held that there is no rule that requires the Tribunal to wait for the action or inaction of the MEU before assuming jurisdiction in a case. The Tribunal held that it would not be in the interest of justice to reject applications indiscriminately solely on the basis that they were filed prematurely without taking into consideration the particular and/or exceptional circumstances that may exist in each of case.
The UNDT stated in the judgment that, there no longer being any determination to make, the application was dismissed in its entirety without liberty to reinstate and without prejudice to the Applicant’s right, if necessary, to file an application under art. 2.1(c) of the UNDT Statute seeking to enforce the implementation of the agreement reached through mediation.
The UNDT sought confirmation from the Applicant that the case was withdrawn in its entirety, including on the merits, with no right of reinstatement. The Applicant having confirmed that she was withdrawing the matter fully, including on the merits, and with no right of reinstatement, the UNDT stated in the judgment that, there no longer being any determination to make in view of the Applicant’s unequivocal withdrawal of her application, the application was dismissed in its entirety without liberty to reinstate.
Administrative decision: The Tribunal held that while the Application appeared to be challenging a decision of the Secretary-General, the fundamental decision being contested was actually the ICSC decision to reclassify the Addis Ababa duty station. Noting that the ICSC is an independent entity, the Tribunal held that: (i) its decision cannot be imputed to the Secretary-General; (ii) it cannot extend its jurisdiction to include decisions made by the ICSC; and(iii) that the Secretary-General has not been vested with any discretionary authority with respect to the implementation of ICSC...
While the delay in the investigation process in this case constituted a breach of the requirements of promptness in ST/SGB/2005/8, the investigation of the Applicant’s complaint of prohibited conduct was ongoing as opposed to making no progress at all. The Respondent’s submission provided the Applicant with a full explanation of the reasons for the delays, which UNDT held was a sufficient remedy in all the circumstances. Moral Damages - Not every breach will give rise to an award of moral damages as a result of a breach of the procedural due process entitlements and that other entitlement to...
If the Applicant was labouring under the belief that pursuant to the Agreement, the Respondent was giving her a guarantee of a new post or that she would be laterally transitioned, that belief was misplaced. Nothing in the Agreement or any evidence before the Tribunal suggests that the Respondent was in a position to simply “give” the Applicant another position within UNEP. Positions in the Organizations are not filled or presumed to be filled according to the will of managers but are subject to the Staff Rules and Regulations. The Applicant was not justified in harbouring a legitimate...
The Tribunal ruled that the transfer within the recipient organization does not fall within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction and that, hence, the application was irreceivable ratione materiae in this respect. Regarding UNICEF's alleged failure to intervene to prevent the Applicant’s reassignment, while conceding that the Organization has a duty of care vis-à-vis its employees, the Tribunal found that such duty had not been breached in this case, since the Applicant informed UNICEF of her reassignment only a few days before she ceased being a UNICEF staff member following her inter-organization...
ReceivabilityThe placement of a staff member on administrative leave is within the discretion of the Secretary-General. It is an administrative decision for the purposes of art. 8.1 (c) of the Statute and within the well settled meaning of an administrative action as laid down in Andronov. The Tribunal cannot assume jurisdiction to determine the validity of an administrative decision unless it has been first referred to the Management Evaluation Unit pursuant to art.11.2 of the Staff Rules. In the absence of management evaluation of the decision to place the Applicant on administrative leave...