Â鶹APP

In its Judgment 2010-UNAT-029, El-Khatib, the Appeals Tribunal upheld the jurisprudence of the former UN Administrative Tribunal whereby only circumstances beyond the applicant¡¯s control that prevented him from timely pursuit of his appeal can be regarded as exceptional. The fact that the applicant believed at first that the contested decision was lawful is not an exceptional circumstance, the more so as he had the possibility to obtain information on the applicable rules from the Administration. In El-Khatib, the Appeals Tribunal further recalled that ¡°candidates for a public post are...

The only issue for consideration by the Tribunal is the adequacy of compensation granted by the Secretary-General to the applicant. The applicant alleged that if the selection process had been lawful, he would have been selected to the post and that the compensation granted did not take into account the decrease in his pension benefits. In order to obtain compensation, it is not enough for an applicant to determine that a procedural irregularity was committed; he should also establish that this irregularity caused him a direct prejudice. Therefore, the applicant should demonstrate that he had...

Whenever the administration decides a non-renewal of appointment on the grounds of poor performance, the Tribunal has to verify if the administration has complied with the relevant procedure. The application of ST/AI/2002/3 is not binding regarding staff members appointed for a period of less than one year. Having said that, once a supervisor decides to apply it, the said administrative must be fully complied with.According to ST/AI/2002/3, when the holder of a fixed-term appointment receives the lowest performance rating, the administration has the right not to renew his/her contract. When...

While the change of the country of home leave referred to in ST/AI/367 is stated to be permanent, it is not unconditional, but subject to the Secretary-General being satisfied of the three specified conditions, which include its consistency with the purposes and intent of staff regulation 5.3.Former staff rule 105.3 gave internationally recruited staff the opportunity to take home leave to visit their home country at UN expense. Providing staff rule 105.3 (d) that the country of home leave shall be the country of the staff member¡¯s nationality, the logical corollary is that if a staff member...

The respondent submitted documentary evidence showing that the applicant¡¯s post had been created, and the applicant recruited, specifically for the purpose of prosecuting the above-mentioned top Serbian leader. Accordingly, the Tribunal concluded that the decision to abolish the applicant¡¯s post and to terminate his fixed-term appointment had been taken in view of the necessities of service and constituted a proper exercise of the respondent¡¯s discretionary authority. Since it was established that the necessities of service justified the termination of the applicant¡¯s appointment, it was not...

The applicant was not separated because of an organisational necessity neither because of the expiry of his short-term contract -he did not have a signed contract. He was separated because of a disciplinary measure following the findings of the selection panel. The separation of the applicant was unlawful for two reasons: the decision was made without proper delegated authority (the authority to terminate a short-term appointment as a result of disciplinary measures has not been delegated by the Secretary-General in accordance with ST/AI/234/Rev.1) and the process was in violation of the rules...

The applicant was not separated because of the expiry of his short-term contract -he did not have a signed contract- but because of a disciplinary measure following the findings of the selection panel. The separation of the applicant was unlawful in two respects: the decision was made without proper delegated authority (the authority to terminate a short-term appointment as a result of disciplinary measures has not been delegated by the Secretary-General in accordance with ST/AI/234/Rev.1) and the process was in violation of the rules governing separation as a disciplinary measure, including...

In view of the informal resolution of the dispute, the application was withdrawn.

The Tribunal found that the evidence adduced by the respondent did not sufficiently support the charge that the applicant had not paid for three tickets issued to him by MCM and that, accordingly, the applicant should be given the benefit of the doubt in respect of this charge. About the applicant¡¯s unauthorized absences from the mission area, the Tribunal held that, taking into account the specific circumstances of the case, a dismissal was disproportionate to the offence and that a written censure would be an appropriate measure. The Tribunal found that the applicant¡¯s due process rights had...

¡°[...]if the respondent fails to follow proper procedures, and even if the decision is subsequently withdrawn, the applicant may be entitled to compensation, for the violation of his due process rights at the time the decision in question was taken. Therefore, the question of compensation must be dealt with separately from the fact that the contested decision was withdrawn.¡± ¡°The Administration¡¯s failure to pursue one of the options under Section 9 of ST/AI/371, to put the case on hold and to keep the applicant, who had been charged with misconduct, in a limbo and to issue the Note for File...