É«¿âTV

UNAT noted there was a pattern of withholding annual performance reports and salary increments, and that those delays were coupled with the denial of a post for which the Appellant was short-listed but was not filled prior to the Appellant’s retirement. UNAT noted the Appellant was also denied his post, which was abolished due to restructuring. UNAT held that the Appellant was not treated conscientiously and fairly and deserved compensation. UNAT granted the appeal in part and ordered that the Appellant be paid three months’ net base salary as compensation.

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that it was satisfied that the UNDT’s conclusion that Ms Frechon was incapable of further service, based on the findings of the Medical Board, was not tantamount to UNDT having stepped into the shoes of the UN Medical Director. UNAT held that there were no grounds to disagree with the finding of UNDT that Ms Frechon’s contract was, in fact, terminated for medical reasons. UNAT held that the procedure which should have been invoked was that set out in ST/AI/1999/16. UNAT held that UNDT was correct in rescinding the decision to...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal. UNAT held that, in the present case, UNDT had not recorded any reasons for holding that this was indeed an exceptional case, warranting an award higher than two years’ net base salary. UNAT held that the award of full salary payable between separation and the date of the UNDT judgment was fraught with ambiguity and uncertainty since the staff member might have been separated from service on other non-disciplinary grounds. UNAT held that it would be adequate, fair, and reasonable to award compensation in lieu of reinstatement in an amount equal to...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General limited to the amount of compensation. UNAT held that, in the present case, UNDT had not recorded any reasons for holding that this was indeed an exceptional case, warranting an award higher than two years’ net base salary. UNAT held that the award of full salary payable between separation and the date of the UNDT judgment was fraught with ambiguity and uncertainty since the staff member might have been separated from service on other non-disciplinary grounds. UNAT held that it would be adequate, fair, and reasonable to award compensation in...

UNAT considered Mr Al Sayyed’s appeal and found that the decision to terminate his service, effective from close of business 15 December 2007, and as communicated to him on 30 November 2007, was superseded by the action he took on 4 December 2007, an action reinforced by him on 7 January 2008. Under these circumstances, UNAT held that UNRWA did not err in dismissing Mr Al Sayyed’s appeal against his termination on the basis that there was no termination decision capable of review. UNAT dismissed the appeal.

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that in such a case, where the material facts were not in dispute, no additional investigation was required to establish the misconduct. UNAT held that UNDT erred in law in finding that the investigative and disciplinary process had not been properly conducted and that Mr Ainte’s due process rights had been violated by the absence of an official investigation. UNAT held that Mr Ainte had not demonstrated that the Secretary-General failed in any other way to observe his due process rights. UNAT held that the Secretary-General was...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General limited to the matter of compensation. UNAT held that the appeal had to be allowed in part because UNDT erred in setting the compensation in lieu of reinstatement at two years’ net base salary without considering that Mr Gakumba’s previous fixed-term appointments were one year each. UNAT held that the expectancy of renewal could not be fixed beyond such a period and therefore reduced the compensation to one year’s net base salary. UNAT affirmed the UNDT judgment on compensation for non-pecuniary damages and held that no error of law was...

UNAT did not accept the argument that there was no evidence to indicate that the Appellant received the letter communicating the outcome of the management evaluation on 14 July 2011, noting that UNDT relied on the Appellant’s statement to ascertain that date. UNAT held that the Appellant failed to show any error on UNDT’s part. UNAT held that the Secretary-General rightly submitted that the deadline for the Appellant to file an application with UNDT was 12 October 2011, notwithstanding any ambiguity as to when she actually received the management evaluation response and the appeal failed on...

UNAT held that UNDT did not err on questions of fact by ignoring or failing to examine what the Appellant considered to be evidence, which constituted mere allegations and unsubstantiated argumentation on his part. UNAT held that the Appellant did not support his submission by any grounds which would bring the issue within the remit of UNAT. Noting that the Appellant relied upon the statements and observations which he had brought before UNDT, UNAT noted that a litigant’s past allegations and arguments cannot be considered evidence per se. UNAT held that it was not the task of UNDT (or UNAT)...

On the issue of whether it had been established by clear and convincing evidence that the Appellant had possession of, and traded in, Tramal, UNAT agreed with UNRWA DT’s credibility determinations, analysis and conclusions and accepted its factual findings. On the issue of whether the established facts showed misconduct, UNAT held that misconduct based on underlying criminal acts does not depend upon the staff member being convicted of a crime in a national court. UNAT recalled the jurisprudence of the former UN Administrative Tribunal that different onuses and burdens of proof arise under...