Â鶹´«Ã½

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT affirmed UNDT’s finding of the unlawfulness of reassignment decision. UNAT recalled that reassignment is proper if the new post is at the staff member’s grade; if the responsibilities involved correspond to his or her level; if the new functions are commensurate with the staff member’s competencies and skills; and if he or she has substantial professional experience in the field. UNAT held that, in Ms Rees’ case, none of these factors existed with respect to the position to which the Administration purported to reassign her. UNAT held...

UNAT held that UNDT had not erred in concluding that the Administration’s decision, to take into consideration in the context of the Appellant’s 2009-2010 performance appraisal events post-dating 31 March 2010, was superseded by the Administration’s subsequent change of approach. UNAT held that UNDT had correctly determined that the Appellant’s claims in this regard had become moot. UNAT held that, in rendering the Appellant’s complaint about the rebuttal issue moot considering the subsequent reversal of the decision of 24 November 2010, UNDT had failed to give sufficient weight to a central...

UNAT emphasised the importance of performance appraisals and noted that there appeared to be a pattern of delays in completing those of the Appellant. UNAT held that, given the present circumstances of the case, the award of USD 3,000 was manifestly insufficient and increased the compensation to three months’ net base pay. UNAT allowed the appeal to the extent that it pertained to compensation.

UNAT held that UNDT correctly determined that no appealable administrative decision was identified by the Appellant. UNAT held that UNDT correctly assessed the actions and/or omissions against the definition of an administrative decision. UNAT held that UNDT was correct in law when it stated that the Administration’s proposed alternative did not qualify as a final decision, nor could it be considered as a decision not to proceed with the rebuttal process. UNAT held that there was nothing in the Appellant’s written or oral submissions to persuade UNAT that UNDT made any error of law or fact in...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal. UNAT held that UNDT erred by concluding that ST/AI/2002/3 applied to UNICEF, as the UNICEF Handbook establishes the procedure that a staff member must follow should they wish to rebut the content of their performance report. UNAT noted that the principle articulated in Villamoran v. Secretary-General of the United Nations (2011-UNAT-160), which holds that administrative issuances have greater legal authority over manuals such as the UNICEF Handbook, only where there is a conflict between guidelines and manuals and a properly promulgated...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal, specifically as to whether Mr Gehr was prejudiced or discommoded by the fact that his rebuttal was conducted by the rebuttal panel established in 2011. UNAT did not find that Mr Gehr’s obligation to engage with a panel established pursuant to ST/AI/2010/5 was, in and of itself, sufficient to merit an award of compensation, in the absence of specific harm or prejudice arising therefrom. UNAT held that the breach was not of sufficient seriousness to merit a compensatory award. UNAT allowed the appeal and vacated the UNDT judgment in its entirety.

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that, at the time UNICEF sought to make the correction from termination to non-renewal, the staff member was already separated from service, and it was, therefore, too late to reverse the decision. UNAT affirmed UNDT’s finding that the staff member’s separation from service was termination on grounds of alleged unsatisfactory performance and that the Administration’s decision to reverse the decision was untimely and ineffective. UNAT held that there was no reason to reverse UNDT’s finding that the staff member had been deprived of a...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that UNDT erred in excluding documents from the OSF and by ordering compensation for alleged damages not related to any established illegality. UNAT held that, even if the irregularities and delays in the appraisal procedure were so serious that they rendered the … evaluations meaningless, it did not mean that they should not be kept in the OSF. UNAT held that they, together with the corrective substitute reports or decisions, should all be kept in order to explain the whole process. UNAT, therefore, held that UNDT had erred in...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT rejected the request for an oral hearing since the issues for decision had been clearly defined by the parties’ submissions. UNAT held that the Secretary-General had failed to persuade it that UNDT erred on a question of fact resulting in a manifestly unreasonable decision. UNAT held that it was correct to conclude that the Administration had acted unlawfully when it did not renew the staff member’s appointment because there was not enough evidence to support a determination that the staff member had failed to perform his functions. UNAT...

UNAT noted that, despite its Registry’s request for the Appellant to file an appeal brief, the Appellant failed to do so. UNAT noted that the Appellant was given the opportunity to improve his performance through the further extension of his appointment for an additional six months, but his performance had still not improved. UNAT held that there was no error in the conclusion of UNRWA DT that both the initial decision to extend the Appellant’s probationary period and the subsequent decision not to confirm his appointment were in compliance with his letter of appointment and UNRWA’s regulatory...