UNDT/2023/033

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

An application before the Dispute Tribunal shall be filed within 90 calendar days of the receipt of the management evaluation outcome, not the date at which a staff member acknowledged its receipt.

In addition, statutory time limits are calculated in the time zone of the Tribunal’s seat having geographical jurisdiction over the matter, not according to the location of the Applicant or the Respondent.

As a result, having received the management evaluation response on 2 December 2022.

the Applicant should have filed her application at the latest by 2 March 2023.

However, having only filed it on 3 March 2023, the application is time-barred and not receivable ratione temporis.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

The Applicant, a former P-4 Legal Officer at UNCTAD, Geneva, under a temporary appointment, contests the decision not to reappoint her.

Legal Principle(s)

Time limits are to be strictly enforced, and that lateness even by several minutes, several hours, or several days is irrelevant.

Outcome

Dismissed as not receivable

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The judgment summaries were generally prepared in English. They were translated into French and are being reviewed for accuracy of the translation.

Applicants/Appellants

Entity

Case Number(s)

Tribunal

Registry

Date of Judgement

23 May 2023