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UNDT/2024/100, ATR
- Appealed
The Rules of Procedure of the Appeals Tribunal (which were also approved by the General Assembly), expressly provide that “published judgements will normally include the names of the parties.†Even if names were within the ambit of “personal dataâ€, it appears clear that this Tribunal must balance the need for accountability with the need to protect personal data according to the circumstances of each case. In so doing, it is the general practice of this judge to avoid using names, other than the parties, to protect the anonymity of innocent persons somehow involved in the case. As a victim of...
UNDT/2024/099, Hassan
Having considered all the submissions and the evidence on record, the Tribunal considered that the main issue for determination was whether the hiring manager conducted a fair and unbiased assessment of the Applicant’s candidacy, giving it full and fair consideration.
The spreadsheet submitted by the Respondent in response to Order No. 57 (GVA/2024) sheds a light into the matter. This contemporaneous document showcases the hiring manager’s thorough assessment of the Applicant’s professional experience.
The Applicant’s submissions concerning his title, long satisfactory service, OiC experience...
117 (NY/2024), Herrera
As the Applicant filed the application before the Dispute Tribunal almost two months after the decision to include his name in the ClearCheck database was implemented, the application for suspension of action was therefore not receivable.
2024-UNAT-1488, Abdurrahman Turk
The UNAT held that the applicant’s reliance on Article 2 of the UNAT Statute for his application for revision was misguided and as such, was not receivable and lacked merit. The UNAT nonetheless reviewed his application for revision under the appropriate legal framework, which is in Article 11 of the UNAT Statute and Article 24 of the UNAT Rules of Procedure.
The UNAT held that other than the application being filed within one year of the UNAT Judgment at issue, the application for revision did not comply with any of the statutory requirements. There was no fact discovered after the issuance...
2024-UNAT-1485, Betty Mukomah
The UNAT noted that the applicant had filed the application for revision some three months after she became aware of the decisive facts as identified in the application. The UNAT held that the application had been filed beyond the 30-day time limit and was, therefore, not receivable.
The UNAT found that, in any event, one of the documents had not been in existence at the time of the UNAT Judgment. The UNAT also noted that the document had not been decisive in reaching a decision in the appeal and, for this reason, the application was an attempt to re-litigate the appeal. The UNAT concluded...
2024-UNAT-1486, Abbas Abbas Koura
The UNAT noted that the staff member had been among the staff whose fixed-term appointments were not renewed due to the closure of the UNAMID mission.
With regard to his colleague who was laterally reassigned to the Headquarters and consequently remained in service, the UNAT found that the reassignment had been directly related to the undisputed fact that the colleague could not have been repatriated to Afghanistan for safety and security reasons. The UNAT was of the view that without the lawfulness of the reassignment decision having been placed before it for determination, it was unable to...
2024-UNAT-1484, Kamini Devi Balram
The UNAT held that the President of the Council of ICAO, in taking the decision not to approve the appointment of the staff member to the post, had regard to relevant considerations: the staff member was negatively assessed by the interview panel and the assessment centre, and had serious weaknesses in areas of vision and other competencies which were critical skills for ICAO. The UNAT found that the reasons provided by the President accorded with the facts.
The UNAT was of the view that, although the President discussed the matter with some members of the panel, these discussions had not...
2024-UNAT-1487, Mubashara Iram
The UNAT held that the application for revision had no merit. The UNAT considered that since all the evidence submitted by the applicant as new had always been in her possession and she had never mentioned them or made any effort to have them produced during the judicial proceedings, this evidence was not new to her.
The UNAT noted furthermore that the applicant’s submissions essentially repeated or added to the same arguments that she had raised before the UNAT in the prior proceedings.
In addition, the UNAT pointed out that in failing to comply with the Order in which the UNAT granted in...
2024-UNAT-1483, Jane Ocokoru
Ms. Ocokoru filed an appeal.
The Appeals Tribunal dismissed the appeal. The Appeals Tribunal found that Ms. Ocokoru had failed to file her appeal within the applicable time limit pursuant to Article 7(1) of the UNAT Statute and had failed to request a suspension, waiver or extension of the time limits. The UNAT concluded that the appeal was therefore time-barred and not receivable ratione temporis.
The Appeals Tribunal found that, in any event, the UNDT did not err in finding the application not receivable ratione materiae on grounds that the arguments raised by Ms. Ocokoru had already...
2024-UNAT-1482, Maha Mohammad Issawi
The UNAT held that the former staff member had no legitimate expectation of renewal of her fixed-term appointment, as there was no evidence that the Administration had made any express promise that would have created such an expectation. On the contrary, the UNAT found that the Administration had properly informed all affected staff, including the former staff member, of the last date of the MADAD Project and advertised 15 clerical posts internally, inviting staff to apply for alternative positions. The UNAT further held that these actions should be viewed in light of the continuous efforts...
2024-UNAT-1481, Asmaa Abdullah Nassir Al-Timimi
The UNAT held that the former staff member did not meet the burden of showing that the UNDT Judgment was defective, instead merely arguing that the decision was not fair. On the contrary, the UNAT found that in not renewing her fixed-term appointment, the Administration acted lawfully and fairly.
The UNAT emphasized that the Administration’s decision was part of a genuine restructuring which involved, among other measures, reprioritizing existing resources through reassignment, redeployment, and reclassification of staff, including the redeployment of the former staff member’s position from...
2024-UNAT-1480, Mirjam Briel
The UNAT held that the Standing Committee of UNJSPB had appropriately found Ms. Briel ineligible to receive a widow’s benefit.
The UNAT found that Ms. Briel should have submitted her appeal to the UNAT using the prescribed form, accompanied by a brief explaining her grounds for appeal, particularly given that she had received clear instructions from the UNAT Registry. Nonetheless, the UNAT reviewed the merits of her appeal.
The UNAT found that, at the time of the late participant’s death, he had not reported Ms. Briel as his spouse or common-law spouse. Moreover, there was no evidence to...
2024-UNAT-1479, Polino Malish Abbas
The UNAT held that the UNDT committed an error of fact, resulting in a manifestly unreasonable decision, when it found that a termination decision was made on 1 April 2022. In this regard, the UNAT found that while a decision to place a note in the former staff member’s Official Status File (OSF) was made on 1 April 2022, the termination decision was actually taken on 11 March 2022. Therefore, the UNDT should have identified either decision as the contested decision, but erred in following the former staff member’s assertion that a termination decision was taken on 1 April 2022.
Nevertheless...
2024-UNAT-1478, Mohammad Almasri
The UNAT found that no new fact was advanced by Mr. Almasri that had been unknown either to him or the UNAT at the time of the prior Judgment, nor one that would have been decisive in reaching the decision had it been known. Instead, it was Mr. Almasri’s negligence that brought about his factual ignorance...
UNDT/2024/097, Efrati
The Applicant claims that, by informing her that she would only be entitled to the long service step increment in August 2028 instead of August 2026, the Administration effectively made a new and separate administrative decision that is reviewable under the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.
The issue under challenge for the purpose of receivability was whether the communication sent to the Applicant on 19 September 2023 constituted a reviewable administrative decision.
The Tribunal found that there was no decision made by the Respondent in the 19 September 2023 correspondence that adversely affects the...
UNDT/2024/098, Kabeel
Having examined the evidence on record, the Tribunal identifies the following issues for determination:
Whether the Applicant is entitled to parental leave under staff rule 6.3
The entitlement under new staff rule 6.3 on parental leave is only effective as of 1 January 2023, and its application is subject to the “conditions established by the Secretary-General†as per staff rule 6.3(a). These conditions are set out in ST/AI/2023/2.
Section 1.2 of ST/AI/2023/2 provides that said administrative instruction governs the administration of parental leave in respect of a child born or adopted on or...
UNDT/2024/096, Stepanova
The Tribunal established that the Applicant was duly informed, before accepting the offer letter, of the mandatory nature of the condition of mobility in her proposed employment. However, even if mandatory mobility had not been so explicit in the pre-appointment documents, the regulatory framework stipulates at staff rule 4.1 that it is the letter of appointment (LOA) that contains expressly or by reference the terms and conditions of employment.
Therefore, when the Applicant signed her LOA on 3 October 2023, duly accepting all the terms and conditions of her employment, including the...
UNDT/2024/095, Fagasinski
General verbal statements, which the Applicant asserts were made by his Fist Reporting Officer during team meetings, cannot constitute an express promise to renew his TA. More importantly, such verbal statements lacked the essential elements of a proper and concrete offer of renewal, such as the duration of the extension and the name of the appointee. Furthermore, the Tribunal found that no official commitment was made to the Applicant in writing to substantiate an expectation of renewal of his TA.
The Tribunal found that performance management procedures governed by ST/AI/2010/5 and...
2024-UNAT-1477, Sandi Arnold
The UNAT held that the UNDT did not err in finding that the staff member’s action of gifting a sex toy to a subordinate was inappropriate, as it transgressed the boundary between the professional and personal life of the subordinate, even if the event took place in private. Whether solicited or not, it had the potential to negatively impact the image and interests of the Organization. Consequently, the UNAT concluded that by doing so, the staff member failed to uphold the required standard expected of her role as a manager.
The UNAT also found that the UNDT committed no error in finding that...
584 (2024), Miriam Kiingi
- Appealed
The UNAT, by the rationale applicable to appeals and specific claims, allowed the staff member to withdraw the earlier motion without justification. The UNAT granted the motion to withdraw the motion to increase the page limit of the appeal brief.