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Summary Judgment The Tribunal noted that Summary Judgment can only be entered in a case where the material facts are not in dispute and a party to case is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Further that for a party to seek Summary Judgment, it has to be on the merits of the case and such a party should have pleaded facts in relation to the case. The Respondent had not pleaded any material facts and had also not joined issues with the Applicant on the merits of the case. Receivability In determining the receivability of the Application, the Tribunal addressed the Applicant’s access to...

UNDT ordered the Respondent to (i) remove adverse material from the Organization’s files, (ii) send to the Member States that received the summary a copy of the Judgment and explanatory statement, (iii) pay monetary compensation in the amount of USD60,000 for non-pecuniary harm, including emotional distress and damage caused to the Applicant’s reputation. The UNDT rejected the Applicant’s claims for direct economic loss.

The UNDT found that General Assembly resolution 63/253, by which the Assembly adopted the statutes of the UNDT and the UNAT, imposed limitations on their jurisdiction. Interns presently do not have access to the UNDT and the UNAT. Having found that it does not have jurisdiction to consider the application, the UNDT dismissed it without consideration of its merits.

The Tribunal noted that in reviewing disciplinary cases, its role is to examine: (i) whether the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based have been established; (ii) whether the established facts legally amount to misconduct; (iii) the proportionality of the disciplinary measure; and (iv) whether there was a substantive or procedural irregularity. Further, the Tribunal noted that in reviewing disciplinary cases, it must scrutinize the facts of the investigation, the nature of the charges, the response of the staff member, oral testimony if available and draw its own conclusions. The...

The Tribunal noted that in reviewing disciplinary cases, its role is to examine: (i) whether the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based have been established; (ii) whether the established facts legally amount to misconduct; (iii) the proportionality of the disciplinary measure; and (iv) whether there was a substantive or procedural irregularity. Further, the Tribunal noted that in reviewing disciplinary cases, it must scrutinize the facts of the investigation, the nature of the charges, the response of the staff member, oral testimony if available and draw its own conclusions. The...

The decision to terminate the Applicant’s contract was taken at the Mission level, without the delegated authority required by ST/AI/234 and was therefore unlawful. The post facto approval of the decision by the ASG/OHRM does not cure the unlawfulness. The Secretary-General’s action of entering into a contract of employment with the Applicant for the reason only of securing termination indemnities for the Applicant does not appear to be supported by any Staff Regulation, Staff Rules or any known principles of an employment contract. The termination of the Applicant’s appointment as a result of...

The Tribunal finds in favour of the Applicant and orders the Administration to carry out a new calculation of the 2009 staff assessment deductions that ought to be reimbursed to her, without taking into consideration her foreign tax credit. Rules governing taxation: In the Organization, as in most national systems, only the deliberative assembly may set the amount of taxes. While the executive power is responsible for setting procedural rules applicable to the collecting of taxes, it is not for that power to take decisions which modify the amount set by the assembly. Hierarchy of the...

Having observed the demeanour of the witnesses, examined and analyzed the evidence provided by the witnesses in support of the charge against the Applicant, the Tribunal finds the evidence credible, truthful and properly acted upon. The testimonies relied upon by the Respondent when imposing the disciplinary sanction against the Applicant are substantiated, corroborated and truthful. The evidence relied upon by the Respondent in this case sufficiently supports the charge against the Applicant of improperly soliciting and receiving monies from local citizens in exchange for their initial...

The Tribunal therefore found that the Applicant failed to satisfy the overall test for a suspension of action with respect to that decision. With respect to the decision to require her to take a break in service prior to her placement on a temporary appointment, the Tribunal found that the three requirements of art. 2.2 of the Tribunal’s Statute were satisfied. The Tribunal found that, for staff on fixed-term appointments who are being reappointed under temporary appointments following the expiration of their fixed-term appointments, there is no requirement, in law, to take a break in service...

The issues before the Tribunal were whether the Applicant had a legal expectancy of renewal; whether the abolition of the Applicant’s post was a valid exercise of the Organization’s discretion; and whether the Applicant was fully and fairly considered for the newly created posts following a restructuring within the Organization. Outcome: The application failed and was dismissed.