Juge Honeywell
The offences alleged in the instant case were of a complex nature and were framed in a manner that required several discrete facts to be established so that a sanction of separation could be justified. Each element of the allegations of misconduct the Administration found to have been established was therefore subject to review. With the account of one person to be weighed against another, the Respondent had to properly consider issues of credibility on the record. There was no indication that the Respondent considered the two possible motives. The Applicant’s case was that the disciplinary...
The offences alleged in the instant case were of a complex nature and were framed in a manner that required several discrete facts to be established so that a sanction of separation could be justified. Each element of the allegations of misconduct the Administration found to have been established was therefore subject to review. With the account of one person to be weighed against another, the Respondent had to properly consider issues of credibility on the record. There was no indication that the Respondent considered the two possible motives. The Applicant’s case was that the disciplinary...
The acts of sexual harassment committed by the Applicant were of such a persistent and offensive nature that in keeping with the Organization’s zero-tolerance policy he could not remain on the job. However, the Organization’s policy on care and support for persons suffering with mental illness was also clear. The Applicant’s behaviour was influenced by severe mental illness. The illness ought to have been addressed in a more timely and considerate manner by the Respondent by denying his clearance to return to work in March 2015 and in August 2016. He may then have retired due to ill-health...
The Applicant sought review of the impugned decision by the Management Evaluation Unit on 1 November 2019, but did not receive a response until 23 June 2020. The application was time barred.
Having proposed closure of the Kamina site to the General Assembly and the corollary budgetary reductions, the Respondent proceeded with the implementation of his proposal. The natural consequence of this process was that the Applicant was left with no tasks to perform. The decision did not amount to a de facto termination by cutting; short the Applicant’s appointment. The appointment continued until the expiration date on 30 June 2019 but was not renewed due to the abolition of the post. There was nothing in the parties’ submissions to show that the decision was perverse or tainted so as to...
The Applicant indicated that he had been promised during a pre-interview presentation that the names of the assessors would be provided. The Respondent failed to present a plausible, or indeed any, basis for the non-response to the Applicant’s proactive inquiry as to the names of the assessors. It would have been proper, under the circumstances, for the Respondent to either dispute the fact of the promise or provide the requested information. The Respondent’s silence drew a finding of impropriety. If the Applicant had received the assessors’ names, he would have had the opportunity to raise...
The Respondent repeatedly told the Applicant in writing from July 2018 to May 2019 that there was no change in his functions, and he was to perform the same duties that had always been assigned in Ramallah. The Respondent’s many reiterations, up to May 2019, of the position made clear since September 2018 did not give rise to a new challengeable decision so as to bring forward the time within which a request for management evaluation could be made.; In accordance with staff rule 11.2(c) it was incumbent on the Applicant to challenge, in a timely manner, the underlying decision and any alleged...
Having proposed closure of the Kisangani site to the General Assembly and the corollary budgetary reductions, the Respondent proceeded with the implementation of his proposal. Rather than reduce the term of the Applicant’s appointment, the Respondent opted instead to lighten the footprint in the Kisangani site by having those; whose services were no longer necessary to go home but without it affecting their benefits or entitlements. The natural consequence of this process was that the Applicant was left with no tasks to perform. While this may have been an unorthodox arrangement, nothing in...
The required facts for a finding of sexual exploitation were not proven clearly, or at all, such that a decision to impose the sanction of separation could have been justified. There was also a failure to consider relevant evidence as to a prior courtship relationship between the parties that if considered would have shed further doubt on whether the Complainant was exploited. There was no factual basis for the investigators and the Respondent to have found that there was a relationship of trust that could have been abused. The Complainant was not a beneficiary of assistance from the United...
The Applicant’s view of the broadcast as an implied decision refusing to re-assign him was not receivable because the refusals commenced as far back as 2014. Neither this application nor the request for management evaluation preceding it were made within the time limit for receivable challenges to these decisions. There was no administrative decision concerning negligent handling of the Applicant’s medical concerns as alleged in the application. The broadcast was not a reviewable decision because the Applicant suffered no adverse results. At all times the Applicant was on paid sick leave...
The alleged failure to protect the Applicant from further retaliation is not a contestable administrative decision as it does not have legal consequences on his terms of employment. Therefore, this part of the Applicant’s case is not receivable. The Ethics Office’s recommendation only required that “efforts be made”, in consultation with the Applicant, to transfer him to either a position in the specialized units in his section or to another position in his department. According to the recommendation, the Applicant had no right to be transferred to a position outside his section.; The Ethics...
The alleged failure to protect the Applicant from further retaliation is not a contestable administrative decision as it does not have legal consequences on his terms of employment. Therefore, this part of the Applicant’s case is not receivable. The Ethics Office’s recommendation only required that “efforts be made”, in consultation with the Applicant, to transfer him to either a position in the specialized units in his section or to another position in his department. According to the recommendation, the Applicant had no right to be transferred to a position outside his section. The Ethics...
The evidence shows that the Applicant was never separated from the Organization. The Applicant’s request to be placed on a post at the D-1 level post is therefore moot. The outcome of the complaint of harassment was not included in the management evaluation request as such complaint was, at the time, still under investigation. The Tribunal has no jurisdiction to review that administrative decision because it was not reviewed by the management evaluation unit under art.8.1(c) of the Tribunal’s Statute. Related
Once he was notified that he would not be separated from the Organization, the Aplicant was not entitled to a repatriation grant for his dependents. By allowing his family to travel back to his country of origin regardless, he incurred the liability of an overpayment of the repatriation grant to which he was not entitled. The Organization was entitled to recover the overpayment from the Applicant.
The Applicant missed the 90-day deadline to file the application which is, therefore, time-barred.
If the comments in a satisfactory performance evaluation do, in fact, detract from the overall rating, they oppositely must constitute a final, and therefore also appealable, decision. If a staff member were not to be granted access to judicial review by this Tribunal of whether disparaging comments detracted from the provided ratings of “successfully meets performance expectations”, such comments would be entirely shielded from any scrutiny whatsoever and their legality would never be capable of any review at all. Accordingly, a central purpose of ST/AI/2010/5 namely, ensuring accountability...
The application is not receivable. The management evaluation request was not receivable because the Applicant did not file a timely request for management evaluation of the contested decision.
There is nothing in the wording of sec. 2.5(a) that prescribes for ruling out of the count of one-year assignments that were preceded by an assignment that lasted less than a year. Accordingly, even though the prior assignment of nine months in Cairo did not itself count as an assignment, the following period in Tripoli, which was for one year, fully meets the requirements to be counted as an assignment. The Tribunal finds that there is no room to interpret the relevant provisions to claim, like the Respondent does, that his return to Tripoli in April 2012 should be considered as a...
The case is moot since a cheque for the reimbursement of a dental claim was already issued prior to the filing of this application. There is no longer any administrative decision to be contested, and the dispute is resolved. It appears that the only remaining issue is an arrangement to make a payment of the bank fee by issuing a cheque or transferring money to the Applicant’s account. This is not a legal question for the Tribunal to adjudicate upon. Regarding moral damages, she has failed to provide any evidence to support her claim of moral damages in either her request for management...
The application is rejected. UN Women, in denying the Applicant’s request for an ex gratia payment in lieu of Special Post Allowance, did not exceed its authority. UN Women did not fail to properly apply staff rule 12.3(b) as the requested ex gratia payment was a matter that could not be treated as an exception to the Staff Rules by applying staff rule 12.3(b). Additionally, under UN Women’s Financial Regulations and Rules, the request made by the Applicant does not fall within the parameters for an ex gratia payment. There is no basis within the regulatory framework for further reward by way...