UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements
The UNAT held that the appeal was timely, as Article 11(5) of the UNRWA DT Statute provides that the filing period begins upon receipt of the Arabic translation of the judgment when the application was originally submitted in Arabic. Since Ms. Al Dawoud received the Arabic version on 9 January 2025 and filed her appeal on 10 March 2025, the appeal was timely.
On the merits, the UNAT found that the UNRWA DT correctly identified the Agency’s error in treating an email shared by Ms. Al Dawoud as confidential and acknowledged the harm caused by the erroneous disciplinary measure. However, the UNAT determined that the award of JOD 400 for moral damages was inadequate given the established psychiatric harm and prolonged distress caused by the Agency’s delay in rescinding the censure. The UNAT noted that fixing moral damages is not an exact science but must be reasonable and consistent with past jurisprudence. Considering the circumstances and comparative awards, the UNAT increased the compensation to JOD 1,500.
Therefore, the UNAT granted the appeal in part and modified Judgment No. UNRWA/DT/2024/040.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
A former area staff member of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) contested the Agency’s decision to impose the disciplinary measure of a written censure for sharing an internal email with a former staff member and to consider that censure when deciding on annual increment, promotion and extension of her appointment.
The UNRWA Dispute Tribunal, in Judgment No. UNRWA/DT/2024/040, granted the application in part, ordering the Agency to pay JOD 400 as compensation for moral damage and dismissing all other claims, including rescission (which had become moot after the Agency removed the censure) and compensation for due process and material harm.
Former staff member appealed.
Legal Principle(s)
If an applicant before the UNRWA DT submits an application in Arabic and requests a copy of the judgment translated into Arabic, he or she shall also receive the translated Arabic copy. Accordingly, under Article 11(5) of the UNRWA DT Statute, the time limit for appeal shall be calculated from the date when the applicant received the Arabic translation of the judgment.
The UNAT gives due deference to the first instance Judge in determining the principle of compensation and the appropriate quantum. The UNAT is ordinarily reluctant to interfere with an award of compensation by the UNDT because the amount of compensation is necessarily a matter of estimation and discretion. This respect for judicial discretion is particularly significant in cases involving compensation for moral harm, where the determination of the appropriate quantum largely depends on the Judge’s own assessment of the circumstances.
Fixing moral damages is not an exact science and it is not tied to the staff member’s remuneration. The UNAT considers the value of an award in the context of the individual’s living and working conditions at the relevant location, as this can assist in making such a delicate assessment.