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UNAT denied the Appellant’s request for an oral hearing and held that it would not assist in the expeditious and fair disposal of the case, as required by Article 18(1) of the UNAT Rules of Procedure.  UNAT held that the UNDT did not err in striking the evidence filed with the Appellant’s closing submissions or in refusing to hear the Appellant’s supervisors as witnesses. UNAT held that there was clear and convincing evidence that the Appellant used the UNHCR VAT exemption card and credit card for his personal use and that the disciplinary measure was proportionate to the nature and gravity of...

The Tribunal found that with clear and convincing evidence, the Respondent only managed to establish that the Applicant intended to assert some, albeit ineffective, pressure on BM in the hiring process of daily workers. Under Sanwidi, the Tribunal found that the termination of the Applicant’s appointment was manifestly incorrect and led to a disproportionate outcome. The contested decision was therefore unlawful.  

Considering its findings on the unlawfulness of the contested decision, the Tribunal found that the most appropriate remedy would be to rescind this decision (in comparison, see...

Whether the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based have been established  In determining whether the standard of proof has been met, the Tribunal “is not allowed to investigate facts on which the disciplinary sanction has not been based and may not substitute its own judgment for that of the Secretary General”. Thus, it will “only examine whether there is sufficient evidence for the facts on which the disciplinary sanction was based” (see Nadasan 2019-UNAT-918, para. 40). As such, the Tribunal considers to be irrelevant the Applicant’s submission that the facts on which the...

UNAT rejected Mr. Valme’s claim that the allegation of sexual exploitation and abuse had not been established against him, on grounds that any consideration about the complaint of sexual abuse was beyond the scope of the case, because his application concerned other prohibited conduct that came to light during the investigation. UNAT found no merit in Mr. Valme’s contention that the UNDT failed to consider the totality of the evidence and referred to it in a selective way, thereby displaying bias.  UNAT found that it was inherent to the principle of judicial persuasion that courts and...

Mr. Beda appealed.  As a preliminary matter, UNAT dismissed Mr. Beda's motion seeking leave to file a rejoinder on grounds that there was no probative value to the rejoinder Mr. Beda sought to file, and there was nothing new in the Administration's answer that would require him to have an opportunity to provide a rebuttal or rejoinder. Turning to the merits, UNAT found that the UNDT had applied the correct legal standard in its Judgment - whether the facts had been established by clear and convincing evidence - and properly assessed the evidence and credibility of witness testimony, making the...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. UNAT held that Mr. Khamis’ proven conduct did not itself amount to misconduct: he did not engage in transactional sexual relations with local persons and his sexual relations with two local women were more in the nature of domestic, albeit polygamous and ‘open’, relationships. UNAT held that it was not established that payments made to both women were commercial transactions in return for sexual favours. UNAT held that there was not such an imbalance of power between Mr. Khamis and the two women that they could be termed...

UNAT granted the appeal by the Secretary-General and vacated the UNDT Judgment.

It was not disputed that the Applicant borrowed money from a Sales Manager working in a company doing business with MONUC. In the light of the applicable law and in particular the financial and procurement rules, the Tribunal found that misconduct had been properly established. Nonetheless, the Tribunal found a certain number of mitigating factors such as the fact that he repaid the loan in full and that it was a “one-off decision”. Therefore, the Tribunal took the view that the sanction was not proportionate.

The Tribunal found that the acts complained of amounted to misconduct under Staff Regulation 1.2 and Staff Rule 301.3(d) as conduct unbecoming of an international civil servant and as sexual harassment in connection with work. A written censure was a lenient sanction in the circumstances. Sexual harassment in connection with work, as prohibited by Staff Rule 301.3(d), includes a situation where outside the workplace a staff member perpetrated an act of sexual harassment upon another staff member.

The initial fact-finding investigation was fundamentally flawed, unreliable and a sham. The failure to conduct a proper investigation but to resort to arm-chair analysis and conclusions based on the unreliable initial fact-finding investigation was not only useless but constituted a violation of the provisions of ST/Al/371 and the Applicant's due process rights. The Preliminary Investigation Report is characterized by a lack of direct evidence from the alleged victims and a heavy reliance on second hand evidence made by third party witnesses. The IGO/Investigation Unit failed to establish...