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The UNAT found that the procedures applied to fill the Position sought by the staff member were consistent with the applicable rules. Although the OCHA advertised the Position without any pre-determined restriction to rostered candidates, and received some 151 applications, it ultimately decided to select a rostered candidate, thereby excluding the staff member and many others from consideration. The UNAT held that the Administration was well within its prerogative to do so, as the plain reading of Section 9.5 of Administrative Instruction ST/AI/2010/3/Rev.1 (Staff selection system) grants...

The UNAT found that Article 9(4) of the UNDT Statute regarding the nature of the judicial review that the UNDT conducts in disciplinary cases did not apply to the instant case as it was adopted after the hearing was held. The parties presented their evidence, including a chronology of agreed facts as well as live testimony, and made their respective post-hearing submissions, under a legal framework where Article 9(4) was not operative and it would be inappropriate, and a denial of due process, to apply a new evidentiary framework at the point of decision, ex post facto.

The UNAT found that...

The UNAT held that the Fund reasonably chose a 30-year timeframe for its statistical analysis to determine whether there were “aberrant results” in terms of pensions received by beneficiaries who had chosen Slovakia as their country of residence. Similarly, the UNAT held that the conclusions drawn by the Fund from the analysis were properly reached, highlighting that the graph showed a wide disparity between resident beneficiaries who separated from 1993 to 2007 and those who separated afterwards, a disparity solely due to differences in separation dates.

The UNAT found that the suspension...

The UNAT found that Mr. Slayyeh did not file a proper appeal of the impugned Judgment but rather was bringing a new claim for compensation that had not been submitted to the Dispute Tribunal. The UNAT held that he could not introduce on appeal an issue not previously presented to the first instance tribunal as it is a violation of the due process rights of the other party and does not comply with the two-tier system of administration of justice.

The UNAT found that the remedies available under Article 10(5) of the UNRWA DT Statute allow the UNRWA DT to rescind the contested decision or order...

The UNAT noted that the staff member had been notified of the reclassification of the post he encumbered by e-mail without comments on the basis for the decision. The UNAT also noted that he had not been promoted to the reclassified post before separation from service.

The UNAT found that the UNDT had correctly determined that the staff member knew or reasonably should have known by the date he received notification of the reclassification or, at the very latest, by the date the vacancy of the reclassified post was advertised in Inspira, that his post had been reclassified and that he had not...

The UNAT held that none of the reasons provided by Mr. Hejab, considered individually or collectively, were convincing enough to consider his case exceptional, so as to warrant the award of higher compensation than set by Article 10(5) of the UNRWA DT Statute.

The UNAT held that it is not unusual for an older staff member, particularly one who is close to retirement, to have difficulty in finding another job. Likewise, although there are difficult economic conditions where he lives, this is also not the type of factor that warrants compensation in excess of the statutory norm.

The UNAT held...

The UNAT was of the view that the UNDT’s analysis of the applicable legal framework governing the education grant, specifically the costs admissible for reimbursement, had been erroneous and the UNDT had exceeded its jurisdiction when it found the promulgation of the amended administrative instruction unlawful. The UNAT found that the UNDT had failed to provide the reasons, facts and law on which it had based its Judgment.

The UNAT held that the fees which were clearly intended to cover extra-curricular activities or general non-academic services, and were not intended to cover administrative...

The UNAT found that UNICEF had conducted the selection process in a manner fully consistent with its administrative legal framework, including having provided detailed reasons for considering the staff member unsuitable for the post. The UNAT held that his candidature had received full and fair consideration, and he had not shown through clear and convincing evidence that he had been denied a fair chance of selection. The UNAT noted that there was no evidence of bias or ill-motive against him.

The UNAT was of the view that UNICEF’s failure to notify the staff member of the non-selection...

The UNAT noted that the Agency’s job classification tool had been used to reclassify the staff members’ posts. The UNAT found that the UNRWA DT had not erred when it had decided the case in the absence of the full document of the International Civil Service Commission’s “Master Standard for Classification”. The UNAT agreed with the Commissioner-General that the Classification Reports were relevant and sufficient for the UNRWA DT’s determinations.

The UNAT held that notwithstanding the various anomalies in the reclassification process, the staff members had failed to show anything specific that...

The UNAT held that the UNDT had not erred in finding that it had been proven by clear and convincing evidence that the staff member had engaged in harassment and abuse of authority, used her office for personal reasons to prejudice the position of a colleague, disclosed sensitive information, failed to report the possible misconduct of others, used a personal e-mail address contrary to the applicable provisions, and exchanged inappropriate messages about colleagues.

The UNAT found that regardless of whether she had been a whistleblower engaged in a protected activity, there was no evidence...

The UNAT found that there was clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Hunt, in coordination with colleagues, was covertly communicating with a news media reporter on the Investment Fund transaction, the approval process, and the former Representative of the Secretary-General (RSG)’s role and had thereby leaked information to the reporter.

The UNAT held that Mr. Hunt failed to prove that his action of reporting possible misconduct within UNJSPF to outside sources was a protected activity under the Secretary-General’s Bulletin on protection against retaliation. The UNAT agreed with the UNDT’s...

The UNAT held that the UNDT had not failed to exercise jurisdiction nor committed an error in procedure. The UNAT found that the UNDT had not exceeded its broad discretion in overruling the objections of the staff member’s counsel when it permitted additional questions by the Secretary-General’s counsel and, in any event, the UNDT’s ruling had no material or prejudicial impact on the outcome of the case.

The UNAT found that the UNDT had not erred in finding that the picture the staff member had sent to the complainant had been of an explicit sexual and even pornographic character. The UNAT...

The UNAT found that beyond reporting the possible prohibited conduct concerning non-compliance with the United Nations financial rules and regulations to the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the staff member had no further interest in law in the conduct of the investigation or its outcome. The UNAT further agreed with the UNDT that there was no basis for his assertion that OIOS had declined to conduct an investigation into his report. The UNAT concluded that the UNDT had not erred in finding the application concerning this decision not receivable.

Regarding the staff member’s complaint...

The UNAT noted that the interview panel had nominated the staff member as one of the recommended candidates for appointment to the post but the Recruitment Report had been erroneously silent as to whether she had been considered on an equivalency basis. The UNAT observed that the advisory committee had subsequently found that her experience did not qualify her for equivalency and that she had not met the educational qualifications.

The UNAT held that because the staff member had been wrongly shortlisted, her participation in the remainder of the recruitment process had been unlawful and any...

The UNAT observed that the UNDT did not err in denying the staff member’s request for an oral hearing as the case record was “comprehensive” and there was “no irreconcilable dispute of facts between the parties.”

The UNAT held that the staff member’s placement on ALWP was justified, given that the staff member was provided with the names of the members of the fact-finding panel assigned to investigate her alleged misconduct, and that she was in a position to approve the consultancy contract of one of those members, which created a conflict of interest and a genuine risk of interference in the...

The UNAT held that the former staff member’s challenge was to a recommendation of the Alternate Chair of the Ethics Panel, and as an ethics recommendation, it was not an administrative decision subject to judicial review. Thus, the UNDT correctly dismissed this part of the application as not receivable.

The UNAT further found that the Administration’s rejection of the March 2020 Alternate Chair’s report and recommendation could not have been understood by the Ethics Office to be a request to conduct a new review. The UNAT observed that the evidence before the UNDT was that the decision was...

The UNAT held that the Secretary-General had not implicitly withdrawn delegated authority to the Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance (USG/DMSPC) when the Chef de Cabinet sought advice from the USG/DMSPC.

The UNAT held that the UNDT did not err in concluding that the USG/DMSPC reasonably rejected the report of the March 2020 Alternate Chair. The UNAT affirmed that the Administration was empowered impliedly to decline to act on a report that it considered as having exceeded its authorized parameters. Moreover, the UNAT concluded that the USG/DMSPC had the...

The UNAT noted that the health insurance premiums imposed by the UPU in 2023 differed according to factors such as age, retirement status and country of residence.

The UNAT held that there was no support for the appellants' contention regarding the principle of solidarity used in the Swiss social security law, as for several years such principle had no longer been applied by the UPU.

The UNAT determined that the rate of the UPU’s contribution did not differ between the various age groups and there was no evidence that the premium increases were inconsistent with the costs the insurance provider...

The UNAT noted that ABD’s appeal was filed within 60 days of the Order’s issuance, but more than 30 days after that event. Given that under Article 7(1)(c) of the UNAT Statute, a party has 30 days to appeal an order, ABD was out of time to appeal against the impugned UNDT Order.

The UNAT dismissed the appeal as not receivable.

The Appeals Tribunal analyzed the text of Appendix D, from the 1966 version, and concluded that: (a) widows are eligible to receive compensation at a rate of two-fifths of a deceased staff member’s annual salary; (b) if the deceased staff member is survived by more than one widow, the compensation shall be split evenly between the widows; (c) all pension benefits paid through the staff member’s UNJSPF entitlement shall be deducted from the compensation paid under Appendix D; and the deduction shall not reduce the amount of Appendix D compensation otherwise payable to less than 10 per cent of...