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Therefore, the facts resulting from this investigation were not established to a sufficient standard that would permit the Administration to later rely on them to act against the Applicant once he became a staff member. Accordingly, the Tribunal is not satisfied that Administration acted as a reasonable decision maker in deciding to terminate the Applicant’s fixed-term appointment and finds the contested decision unlawful and decides to rescind it. The contested decision is rescinded. Under art. 10.5(a) of its Statute, the Respondent may elect to pay the Applicant compensation in lieu of the...

If the scope of understanding of what the mandatory enrollment-related fees are under sec. 3.1(a) were to be limited in accordance with the Respondent’s submissions, this should therefore have been reflected in the relevant legal framework. This is, however, not the case. Under the plain meaning rule, if the Respondent, namely the Secretary-General, wants the situation to be regulated as contended by his Counsel, this should therefore also clearly and unambiguously follow from the relevant legal framework, in particular ST/AI/2018/1/Rev.1, which the Secretary-General has promulgated himself...

It follows from the case record that the reasons for rejecting the Applicant’s return-to-work plan on 13 May 2019 were only presented to the Applicant in the Respondent’s reply submitted by Counsel for the Respondent. This was evidently a procedural error. The scope of this irregularity was exacerbated by the statutory requirement of sec. 2.2 of ST/SGB/2019/3, which demands “the manager … to establish that the requested accommodations represent a disproportionate or undue burden on the workplace” (italics added). The Applicant’s manager was not Counsel for the Respondent before the Dispute...

At the time of the management evaluation, the contested decision had not been implemented and, therefore, had not had any impact on the Applicants’ terms of employment. The contested administrative decision did not, therefore, constitute a reviewable administrative decision.

Regarding the Respondent’s claim that the Applicant cannot challenge the managerial action imposed on him for failing to request a management evaluation, the Tribunal found that the challenged managerial action is a non-disciplinary measure imposed following the completion of a disciplinary process and therefore the Applicant can challenge it, along with disciplinary measures, without requesting a management evaluation under staff rule 11.2(b). Regarding the question of whether the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based were established, the Tribunal found that the facts that the...

While DD refused to give testimony to the Tribunal, and not being a United Nations staff member is not obliged to do so, this does not by itself render his interview statement inadmissible or otherwise invalid.; The Tribunal notes that the crux of the present case is whether the comments and proposals of the Applicant were of inappropriate sexual nature, or if instead, they simply concerned the security and safety of the premises or otherwise were nothing but jokes and lighthearted remarks.; As the Tribunal rejected all the Applicant’s submissions regarding the facts not having been...

The Tribunal cannot review the merits of the Applicant’s allegations of harassment or abuse of authority. Its jurisdiction is limited to the review of whether her resignation was caused by an action or inaction of Administration which was in violation of the applicable legal framework. The Applicant’s resignation was not caused by an action or inaction of the Administration but was her unilateral decision. Accordingly, this aspect of the application does not concern an administrative decision capable of judicial review and is not receivable. ; Given that the Tribunal found that the Applicant’s...

Non-selection The job responsibilities of the post the Applicant applied for and the post occupied by her spouse, who both report to the same supervisor, are closely related. The Organization reasonably determined that the appointment of the Applicant to the post would create an actual or possible conflict of interest due to her marriage to her spouse. The decision was also procedurally compliant since, contrary to the Applicant’s argument, the decision did not require a prior review by the Compliance Review Body and the hiring manager. The decision was not irrational or arbitrary just because...

A very basic tenet of due process in a disciplinary case is that each of the relevant facts and allegations of misconduct must be presented to the accused person in such manner that s/he can easily understand them and is thereby afforded a fair and just opportunity to defend herself/himself. If not, the Administration cannot subsequently sanction a staff member against the backdrop of any such fact and/or allegation (in line herewith, see ST/AI/2017/1 (Unsatisfactory conduct, investigations and the disciplinary process), in particular para. 8.3). Further, this is a matter of access to justice...

Not only is it the duty of every member of the United Nations personnel to cooperate with the Internal Justice System, but also it is particularly important for senior leaders of the Organization to lead by example. There is no evidence that a selection decision had been made in the first selection exercise before it was cancelled. The cancellation was based on facts supported by evidence and, therefore, it was lawful. The Applicant’s allegations of ulterior motive have no bearing on the decision to cancel the first selection process because the reasons given were lawful. The Applicant’s claim...