UNDT/2020/068, Hejamadi
The Applicant does not show, or even allege, any exceptional circumstances which may have precluded her from timely accessing the invitation email to the written test. Accordingly, the Applicant has not shown that the Administration denied her full and fair consideration. The decision that the Applicant was ineligible signified the end of the process as far as she was concerned. This decision cannot be described as merely preparatory and was therefore reviewable.
UNDT/2020/070, Houenou
Upon review of the record, the Tribunal finds that no official commitment was made to the Applicant in writing which would give rise to a legitimate expectation of renewal of his temporary appointment. The erroneous approval by the OIC of Mission Support cannot be understood to create a legitimate expectation of the renewal. There was maladministration in terms of delay in communicating the error to the Applicant and the Respondent has provided compensation to the Applicant in that respect. The Applicant has failed to provide any evidence that the Administration’s finding that there were no...
UNDT/2020/061, Geegbae
The Applicant argued that the decision to abolish his post and to terminate his fixed-term appointment was tainted by improper motives, but the Tribunal found that the Applicant failed to meet the burden of proof. The Applicant applied for three posts at his level and the record showed that staff members holding continuing appointments from a closed peacekeeping mission were appointed to two posts. Since staff members holding continuing appointment have priority over staff members holding fixed-term appointment, the Administration’s decision regarding these two posts was found to be lawful...
UNDT/2020/058, Sohier
The Applicant was not a staff member at the time of the contested decision, and her former employment was with a different entity than that concerned by the administrative decision under review in this case. No nexus existed between the Applicant’s former employment with the Organization and the administrative decision under review, and the Applicant has therefore no standing to challenge this decision. The cancellation of a selection process is not a challengeable administrative decision. In this case, the canceled job opening was eventually re-advertised and the Applicant eventually selected...
UNDT/2020/051, Hassan
The various justifications given by the Administration suffered from inconsistencies and inaccuracies and not fully supported by the facts. However, the Tribunal finds that the Applicant failed to show that the decision was ill-motivated as alleged. The decision is unlawful. Reinstatement is not possible because the relevant office is closed. The Applicant did not prove that the harm was directly caused by the contested decision and therefore rejects his claim for moral damages.
UNDT/2020/052, Atome
As the Applicant had effectively withdrawn his request for management evaluation, the application was not receivable ratione materiae under staff 11.2(a). Related
UNDT/2020/041, Evans
The Tribunal’s role is not to substitute its decision for that of the Administration when it comes to the evaluation of job candidates. All that is required from the Administration is that it minimally shows that the Applicant’s candidature was given a full and fair consideration. The applicable legal framework allowed the consideration of gender and geographical diversity in the recruitment process.
UNDT/2020/042, Acquatella Corrales
As of the date of this Judgment, the Applicant has failed to comply with the Tribunal’s orders. The Applicant did not submit an updated medical certificate explaining his failure to comply. The proceedings cannot continue when Counsel is not instructed by her client. The Applicant was no longer interested in the pursuit and outcome of the legal proceedings, which were therefore be deemed to have been abandoned, and the matter was therefore dismissed for want of prosecution.
UNDT/2020/037, Rozefort
The Applicant’s appointment was not extended beyond its expiration due to the liquidation of the Mission. The decision not to extend the appointment was supported by the evidence and therefore lawful. The fact that the Applicant had incurred in personal debt does not generate an obligation on the Administration to find her an alternate post upon the closure of the Mission.
UNDT/2020/026, De Rijk
In the preliminary assessment of the complaint, the responsible official correctly reviewed not only the Applicant’s allegations but also the evidence he provided. The responsible official reasonably (a) found no grounds to believe that the subject of the complaint had engaged in unsatisfactory conduct, and (b) concluded that the evidence did not reveal a pattern of harassment. No evidence showed that the authority to review the complaint had been unlawfully delegated or any other procedural irregularity. While the responsible official could have better spelled out the managerial measures...
UNDT/2020/028, Massart
The fact that the Applicant stated the same erroneous date in the two separate communications clearly and convincingly showed that the Applicant did so deliberately—it was not just a simple typographical mistake. Having found that the Applicant had intentionally misrepresented a divorce date in two separate communications, including an official form, resulting in his unjust enrichment, it clearly fell within the Administration’s latitude of discretion to conclude that the Applicant had committed misconduct. Considering the gravity of the Applicant’s misrepresentations, including the...
UNDT/2020/025, Zong
The evidence shows that the Applicant was put on notice of her performance shortcomings orally during the period of the first performance appraisal and in writing thereafter. The Applicant continued to receive feedback on her appraisal throughout the period of the second appraisal. The Applicant elected to submit a written explanatory statement which, as agreed with the Management Evaluation Unit, was included in her Official Status File. In conclusion, the evidence shows that while some procedural irregularities occurred in the recording of the Applicant’s performance,t eh overall evaluation...
UNDT/2020/014 Corr.1, Applicant
The Applicant’s conduct was in violation of staff regulation 1.2(b) and rule 1.2(f) and constitutes misconduct. The Tribunal found that the Applicant did make efforts to persuade her supervisee to forego attempting mediation to resolve their interpersonal disputes and threatened that mediation could adversely affect her supervisee’s career. In particular, the Applicant implied that should her supervisee pursue mediation, her supervisee would develop a bad reputation and that mediation lacked confidentiality. The Applicant further indicated that there may be a negative impact on the chances of...
UNDT/2020/012, Sulemani
The issue raised in the application was not submitted for management evaluation. The application is not receivable. Related
UNDT/2020/013, Nadeau
Pursuant to staff rule 9.6(c), the Secretary-General may terminate the appointment of a staff member who, like the Applicant, holds a continuing appointment in accordance with the terms of the appointment on the grounds of “unsatisfactory service”. The Secretary-General has delegated this authority to the Under-Secretary-General for Management (USG/DM) according to annex IV on delegation of human resources authorities to ST/SGB/2019/2 regarding delegation of authority in the administration of the Staff Regulations and Rules (see p. 21). No exception to this delegation of authority is made...
UNDT/2020/014, Applicant
The Applicant’s conduct was in violation of staff regulation 1.2(b) and rule 1.2(f) and constitutes misconduct. The Tribunal found that the Applicant did make efforts to persuade her supervisee to forego attempting mediation to resolve their interpersonal disputes and threatened that mediation could adversely affect her supervisee’s career. In particular, the Applicant implied that should her supervisee pursue mediation, her supervisee would develop a bad reputation and that mediation lacked confidentiality. The Applicant further indicated that there may be a negative impact on the chances of...
UNDT/2020/001, Kennes
The Tribunal rejects the application as not receivable. The contested decision to place a note on the Applicant’s Official Status File is not an appealable administrative decision as it has no direct legal consequences affecting the terms and conditions of his appointment. The Applicant should have requested a management evaluation within 60 days from the notification of the contested decisions on 5 August 2017, but instead he requested a management evaluation on 3 November 2017, more than 60 days later. Therefore, the application is not receivable as time-barred. The contested decision not to...
UNDT/2020/003, Noberasco
The record provided to Central Review Panel (CRB) was incomplete. The Tribunal therefore finds that the Respondent has failed to demonstrate with a minimal showing that the Applicant’s job candidature was properly assessed by a CRB. The Respondent has failed to demonstrate with a minimal showing that the Applicant received a timely notification of her application being unsuccessful. The general principle provides that the responses to a written test should be graded on an anonymous basis to give full and fair consideration to the job candidatures. Copying members of an assessment panel into an...
UNDT/2019/182, Kisia
The ABCC rectified the procedural irregularities as directed by Judgment No. UNDT/2019/019 in its reconsideration of the Applicant’s claim. The ABCC received and considered a medical opinion of the medical doctor of MSD, who reviewed medical reports submitted by the Applicant along with his prior medical history. While the Applicant made allegations of improper considerations, he did not provide any supporting evidence and these allegations are without merit.
UNDT/2019/172, Halidou
As part of a closing statement, the Applicant submitted new written evidence. The Tribunal rejected all new evidence as this evidence could have been submitted before the closing of the proceedings and no exceptional circumstances justified the late submission. The Applicant was not fully informed of all the evidence upon which the Administration would rely to impose the disciplinary sanction. However, he was nevertheless informed of the allegations against him and therefore the Tribunal proceeded to a de novo review of the facts and a judicial review of the remaining aspects of the case. It...