2026-UNAT-1633

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

The UNAT held that a party aggrieved by denial of interim relief can and generally must wait until the matter is finally resolved before filing an appeal.

The UNAT found that a decision regarding interim relief may be reviewable if it can be shown that the first instance tribunal, the JAB, exceeded its jurisdiction or competence.

The UNAT noted that the JAB is specifically empowered by the ISA Staff Rules to decide whether suspension of an administrative action is appropriate, which is within its competence and jurisdiction.

The UNAT found that there was no basis for its intervention in the JAB proceedings and dismissed the appeal as not receivable.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

Ms. Bourrel-McKinnon, a former staff member of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), contested a decision by the ISA Joint Appeals Board, in which it denied her six applications seeking the immediate suspension of various administrative decisions taken by the Secretary-General.

In decision ISA/JAB/Bourrel/2025 the JAB dismissed the suspension of action requests because (1) the contested decisions had already been implemented; (2) there was no action left to suspend under ISA Staff Rule 11.2(c)(ii); and (3) there were no procedural irregularities to be declared.

Ms. Bourrel-McKinnon appealed.

Legal Principle(s)

Suspension of an administrative action is a form of interim relief which may be entered by a tribunal prior to final judgment on the merits of a case. It is not a final judgment.

A party aggrieved by denial of interim relief can and generally must wait until the matter is finally resolved before an appeal may be had.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed on receivability

Outcome Extra Text

OAJ prepared this case law summary for informational purposes only. It is no official record and should not be relied upon as an authoritative interpretation of the Tribunals' rulings. For the authoritative texts, please refer to the judgment or order rendered by the respective Tribunal. The Tribunals are the only bodies competent to interpret their respective judgments, as provided under Article 12(3) of the UNDT Statute and Article 11(3) of the UNAT Statute. Any inaccuracies in the publication are the sole responsibility of OAJ, which should be contacted directly for any correction requests. To provide comments, don't hesitate to get in touch with OAJ at oaj@un.org.

The judgment summaries were generally prepared in English. They were translated into French and are being reviewed for accuracy of the translation.

Applicants/Appellants

Marie Bourrel-McKinnon

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Tribunal

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Date of Judgement