UN APPEALS TRIBUNAL TIME LIMITS - WHEN TO FILE
Appeals and answers before the UN Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) must be filed on time or they may not be considered by UNAT. The time limits for filing appeals and answers are below:
| APPEAL AGAINST | TIME LIMIT TO FILE APPEAL/APPLICATION | TIME LIMIT TO FILE ANSWER |
| UNDT Judgment | within 60 calendar days of receipt of judgment | within 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal |
| UNDT Interlocutory Order | within 30 calendar days of receipt of order | within 30 calendar days of receipt of appeal |
| UNRWA DT Judgment | within 60 calendar days of receipt of judgment | within 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal |
| UNRWA DT Interlocutory Order | within 30 calendar days of receipt of order | within 30 calendar days of receipt of appeal |
| Decision of the Standing Committee of the UNJSPB | within 90 calendar days of receipt of appeal | within 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal |
| Decision by ICAO Secretary General | within 90 calendar days of receipt of decision by the ICAO Secretary General (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures*) | within 60 calendar days of receipt of application |
| Decision by ICJ Registrar | within 30 calendar days of receipt of report by the Conciliation Committee | within 60 calendar days of receipt of application |
| Decision by IMO Secretary-General | within 90 calendar days of receipt of decision taken by the IMO Secretary-General (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures) | within 60 calendar days of receipt of application |
| Decision by ISA Secretary-General | within 90 calendar days of receipt of decision taken by the ISA Secretary-General (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures) | within 60 calendar days of receipt of application |
| Decision of ITLOS Registrar | within 90 calendar days of receipt of decision taken by the ITLOS Registrar (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures) | within 60 calendar days of receipt of application |
| Decision by WMO Secretary-General | within 90 calendar days of receipt of decision taken by the WMO Secretary-General (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures) | within 60 calendar days of receipt of application |
| CROSS-APPEAL AGAINST | TIME LIMIT TO FILE CROSS-APPEAL | TIME LIMIT TO FILE ANSWER TO CROSS-APPEAL |
| UNDT Judgment | within 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal to judgment | within 60 calendar days of receipt of cross-appeal |
| UNRWA DT Judgment | within 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal to judgment | within 60 calendar days of receipt of cross-appeal |
* First instance procedures are the internal mechanisms which each of the (currently) six agencies, entities or organizations which have accepted UNAT jurisdiction use to review contested administrative decisions.
CALCULATION OF TIME LIMITS
Pursuant to Article 29 of the UNAT Rules of Procedure (Rules), time limits:
(a) Refer to calendar days, but do not include the day of the event from which the period runs;
(b) Include the next working day of the Registry when the last day of the period is not a working day;
(c) Are deemed to have been met if the documents in question were dispatched by reasonable means on the last day of the period.
For example, if you receive a UNDT judgment on 7 March 2018 and you want to appeal that judgment, the 60-day time limit will start to run on the day after your receipt of the UNDT judgment, i.e., 8 March, and will end on 6 May. Since 6 May is a Sunday, you may file your appeal on Monday, 7 May 2018.
SUBMISSION BY E-FILING
Documents submitted by e-filing will be filed to the case according to the date and time of receipt by the Registry, as recorded by the e-filing portal. Filings electronically filed by 11:59 pm New York time shall be deemed as filed on that calendar day.
SUBMISSION BY E-MAIL/FAX
Documents submitted by e-mail or fax shall be filed to the case according to the date and time of receipt by the Registry. Filings received by 11:59 pm New York time are deemed as filed on that calendar day.
SUBMISSIONS IN PERSON
The Registry is open on the working days of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, during office hours from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.
SUBMISSIONS BY POSTAL MAIL/INTERNAL POUCH MAIL
Documents filed by physical mail will be filed according to the date of the postal stamp or date the document is dispatched by internal pouch.
SUSPENSION, WAIVER OR EXTENSION OF TIME LIMITS:
Under Article 7(3) of the UNAT Statute and Article 7(2) of the Rules, in exceptional cases, an appellant may submit a written request to UNAT seeking suspension, waiver or extension of the time limits referred to in Article 7(1) of the UNAT Statute and Article 7(1) of the Rules. Pursuant to Article 30 of the Rules, the President or the panel hearing a case may shorten or extend a time limit fixed by the Rules or waive any rule when the interests of justice so require.
