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Starting date of the 90-day time limit to file an application: The UNDT Statute prescribes that an application before the Tribunal must be filed within 90 days following receipt of the Administration’s response to the request for management evaluation. If the Administration replies after the response period for the management evaluation but before the expiry of the 90-day period, the 90-day period to file an application before the Tribunal starts running again from the date the response is given. Evaluation criteria: It is clear from ST/AI/2006/3/Rev.1 and the Guidelines for programme case...

Receivability: For an application to be receivable, it must clearly identify the contested decision and be preceded by a request for management evaluation, where management evaluation is required.

Legal representation: An applicant may be represented by counsel before the Tribunal provided the requirements of art. 8.2(c) and art. 12 of the Rules of Procedure are met; in particular, the applicant must formally authorize counsel to represent him/her and adequate information must be provided to the Tribunal on the good standing of counsel. Preparatory decisions: According to well-settled case law of the Dispute Tribunal, preparatory decisions are not subject to appeal. They may only be challenged in the context of an appeal against the final decision.

Effect of reversal of decision on compensation: Because the contested decision was reversed by the Administration does not necessarily mean that the applicant is not entitled to claim compensation for the damage s/he may have suffered as a result of the unlawful decision. In a case where the Administration reversed the contested decision at the management evaluation stage, if an applicant can prove that s/he still sustains or sustained an injury resulting from the unlawful decision despite the rescission of the same, s/he has grounds for claiming compensation.Outcome:

Administrative decision: The essential element of an appeal is that there is a contested and appealable “administrative decision”. “Conduct” is not an administrative decision subject to appeal pursuant to article 8.1(a) of the Tribunal’s Statute. Preparatory decision: Preparatory decisions do not affect the scope or extent of an applicant’s rights and are therefore not subject to appeal. Management evaluation: A request for management evaluation is a necessary step in the appeal process. While the findings of a management evaluation do not form an independent administrative decision subject to...

The UNDT noted that the contested decision had been rescinded by the Prosecutor, ICTY, and hence the application was moot. The Applicant contended however that the decision had already been implemented since she was no longer assigned any appeals-related work. The UNDT examined whether her new functions were commensurate with her functional title of Senior Appeals Counsel (P-5), and whether the Prosecutor, ICTY, was entitled to assign her to such tasks. It found that pursuant to staff rule 1.2 (c) and Annex IV to ST/AI/234/Rev.1, the Administration had broad discretionary powers when it comes...

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 United Nations, a break in service consists of a certain period of time between two contracts, governed by the United Nations staff rules, during which a person is not employed by the Organization. Competence of decision...

The UNDT found, in its earlier Judgment McCloskey UNDT/2012/199 that only the decision pertaining to the Statement of Tax Settlement for the year 2010 was receivable. Following the Tribunal’s Judgments in McCloskey UNDT/2012/199 and Johnson UNDT/2011/144, as confirmed by the Appeals Tribunal in Johnson 2012-UNAT-240, the Respondent no longer contests the illegality of the decision to use the Applicant’s wife’s foreign income tax credit. The Respondent nevertheless refuses to reimburse to the Applicant the staff assessment deductions made, which the latter contests. The Tribunal finds in favor...

The UNDT noted despite reminders sent by the Staff Union, and once the Applicant realized that her application had not been processed, she still did not take any action to rectify the situation, and filed her application only nearly two years later. The UNDT found that the circumstances the Applicant described could not be considered “beyond her control”, and rejected her request for a waiver of the time limit to file her application as being unfounded; hence the application was rejected as being time-barred.

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...