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UNAT considered the appeal by the Secretary-General on the compensation awarded. UNAT considered the cross-appeal by Ms Antaki, regarding UNDT’s finding that the decision not to appoint her was valid and lawful, in a separate judgment (judgment No. 2010-UNAT-096). UNAT held that, despite the shortcomings in the process, the decision not to appoint Ms Antaki was both valid and lawful, which should have precluded UNDT from awarding any compensation. UNAT held that UNDT erred in awarding compensation in the absence of any procedural errors in the selection process, or a breach of legal rights...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that there was no reason to re-examine the judgments of the former Administrative Tribunal in judgment No. 1047, Helke (2002) and judgment No. 1122, Lopes Braga (2003). UNAT held that the award of compensation for non-pecuniary damage did not amount to an award of punitive or exemplary damages designed to punish the Organisation and deter future wrongdoing. UNAT held that UNDT did not err in finding that the staff member suffered stress based on his submission. UNAT held that UNDT had committed no error in awarding compensation for...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that the head of department was not entitled to drop a candidate from the list of qualified candidates and, consequently, from the roster of candidates who had been recognised as qualified. UNAT held that UNDT did not commit an error of law or fact in ruling that the contested administrative decision was marred by irregularity and ordering the Appellant to be paid compensation equivalent to six months’ base salary as an alternative to the rescission of the improper decision. UNAT considered that, in this matter, the first judge was...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that it was not for the head of department to intervene in the evaluation process conducted by the programme manager, the Central Review Body and, where applicable, the panel. UNAT held that the head of department is not entitled to drop a candidate from the list of qualified candidates and, consequently, from the roster of candidates who have been recognised as qualified. UNAT held that the Executive Director’s actions disregarded Mr Verschur’s right to benefit from the advantage of being included on the roster for a year and she...

UNAT considered an appeal by Ms Rolland and a cross-appeal against the award of damages by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that the selection process conducted by an interview panel can be rescinded under rare circumstances. UNAT noted that, in general, when candidates have received fair consideration, discrimination and bias are absent, proper procedures have been followed, and all relevant material has been taken into consideration, the selection shall be upheld. UNAT held that Ms Rolland failed to discharge the burden of proof, by showing through clear and convincing evidence that she was...

UNAT held that the UNDT judge had sufficient grounds to order the production of the documents withheld by the Administration concerning the selection process that led to the contested administrative decision. UNAT stated the principle that UNDT has the right to order the production of any document relevant for the purposes of the fair and expeditious disposal of its proceedings. If the Administration opposes UNDT’s order to produce a certain document in its possession, it may, with sufficiently specific and justified reasons, request UNDT to verify the confidentiality of the document in...

The staff member appealed on the ground that UNDT had made errors of fact in the judgment. UNAT recalled that in order to overturn a finding of fact, UNAT must be satisfied that the finding is not supported by the evidence or that it is unreasonable. Some degree of deference should be given to the factual findings by UNDT as the court of first instance, particularly where oral evidence is heard. UNAT dismissed the appeal finding that there were no grounds for overturning the UNDT’s findings of fact and that no other reversible errors were made.

UNAT found that there was no evidence of damages or injuries in this case. UNAT reaffirmed the principle that an award for moral damages must be supported by specific evidence.

UNAT held that UNDT was correct in finding that “consideration” of a candidate for the purposes of ST/AI/2006/3 did not necessarily mean that a candidate can only be meaningfully considered once the relevant assessment tools have been administered to the candidates and the outcome communicated to them. UNAT held that the fact that the Administration invited the 30-day mark candidates to undertake a written test before the assessment of the 15-day mark candidates was completed did not mean that the Appellant was not afforded priority consideration. UNAT noted that the written test had taken...

UNAT held that the Appellant had accepted the conditions of the RLA, which stated that “the loaned employee shall return to the releasing agency upon completion or termination of his assignment with UNAMID and that no offer of continuing employment shall be made to him by UNAMID without consulting the releasing agency”. UNAT held that the Appellant had had a valid employment contract with WFP, and he did not fulfil the conditions for termination under that same agreement. UNAT noted that the Appellant did not formally initiate the transfer procedure and/or termination. UNAT held that UNDT had...