UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements
The UNAT held that the former staff member filed his appeal within the statutory deadline.It noted that since he filed his application before the UNDT in French, the 60-day time limit for filing his appeal ran from the date of receipt of the UNDT Judgment in that same language.As he received the UNDT Judgment in French on 11 July 2025 and filed his appeal on 13 August 2025, the UNAT held that it was filed in a timely manner.
Nevertheless, the UNAT found that the former staff member’s application before the UNDT was not receivable.In this regard, the UNAT first rejected his contention that the UNDT failed to examine the implied decision he was contesting, finding that it was improperly raised for the first time on appeal. The UNAT also found that he failed to identify a contestable administrative decision. Finally, the UNAT concluded that, in any event, the former staff member did not submit any request for management evaluation.
The UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed Judgment No. UNDT/2025/033.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
A UNICEF former staff member contested the manner in which the Administration handled his compensation claim under Appendix D of the Staff Rules, relating to an injury he allegedly sustained at work on 28 February 2021.
In its Judgment on Receivability No. UNDT/2025/033, the UNDT dismissed the former staff member’s application on the grounds that he had not identified an appealable administrative decision and had not submitted a request for management evaluation of the contested decision.
Former staff member appealed.
Legal Principle(s)
An appeal is receivable if it is filed within 60 calendar days of the receipt of the UNDT judgment.An individual applicant or respondent shall receive a copy of the UNDT judgment in the language in which the original application was submitted, unless he/she requests a copy in another official language of the 麻豆APP.In such cases, the date of receipt of the translated version of the judgment is considered the date of receipt of the judgment for the purpose of the computation of time limits pursuant to Article 7(1)(c) of the UNAT Statute.
A management evaluation is a prerequisite for filing an application with the Dispute Tribunal contesting an administrative decision alleging non-compliance with a staff member’s contract of employment or terms of appointment. The purpose of the management evaluation is to enable the Administration to remedy a contested decision by giving it the opportunity to correct any errors in a swift and effective manner.Failure to comply with the requirement to request a management evaluation or with the relevant deadlines renders the application not receivable.
For the purposes of filing a valid application before the UNDT, a party must identify an administrative decision, express or implied, which has allegedly affected a staff member’s conditions of service.
An appellant cannot present new arguments for the first time before the Appeals Tribunal, as this would violate the two-tier principle of administration of justice.