The Respondent requested the Tribunal to redact the names of the victim and her family from “any public filings in this case”. The Tribunal considered the request reasonable and decided to refrain from using the victim’s name as well as the name of the members of her family in its judgment to preserve their privacy and to protect them from any negative repercussion. Based on the evidence on file, the Tribunal found that the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based had been established by clear and convincing evidence. Since the Applicant had been working for the Organization since...
Disciplinary matters / misconduct
As of the date of this Judgment, the Applicant has failed to comply with the Tribunal’s orders. The Applicant did not submit an updated medical certificate explaining his failure to comply. The proceedings cannot continue when Counsel is not instructed by her client. The Applicant was no longer interested in the pursuit and outcome of the legal proceedings, which were therefore be deemed to have been abandoned, and the matter was therefore dismissed for want of prosecution.
Regardless of his appeal of the decision to waive his diplomatic immunity, the Applicant’s failure to honour his private legal obligations under Swiss law violated staff rule 1.2(b) and ST/AI/2010/12 and thus the established facts amount to misconduct. The Tribunal finds that the disciplinary measure imposed in this case was proportionate to the established misconduct. The Tribunal finds that the Applicant’s due process rights were respected.
The fact that the Applicant stated the same erroneous date in the two separate communications clearly and convincingly showed that the Applicant did so deliberately—it was not just a simple typographical mistake. Having found that the Applicant had intentionally misrepresented a divorce date in two separate communications, including an official form, resulting in his unjust enrichment, it clearly fell within the Administration’s latitude of discretion to conclude that the Applicant had committed misconduct. Considering the gravity of the Applicant’s misrepresentations, including the...
The Applicant’s conduct was in violation of staff regulation 1.2(b) and rule 1.2(f) and constitutes misconduct. The Tribunal found that the Applicant did make efforts to persuade her supervisee to forego attempting mediation to resolve their interpersonal disputes and threatened that mediation could adversely affect her supervisee’s career. In particular, the Applicant implied that should her supervisee pursue mediation, her supervisee would develop a bad reputation and that mediation lacked confidentiality. The Applicant further indicated that there may be a negative impact on the chances of...
The facts on which the disciplinary measure was based were established because the Applicant rendered himself publicly drunk over several hours, embroiled in a bar fight, was twice detained by the local police, went out to a bar after curfew drove a UN vehicle while he was legally drunk based on MINUSCA’s zero tolerance policy refused to stop and exit the UN vehicle when signaled by MINUSCA Security Officers, including his superior drove in a dangerous manner. The established facts legally amounted to misconduct because the Applicant’s actions, which included public drunkness, becoming...
On the first issue of placing of the note on the Applicant’s personnel file, the Tribunal found that the Applicant did not dispute that the Respondent complied with ST/AI/292 which governs placement of adverse materials on personnel files. The Applicant conceded that the Respondent acted within the law. The Applicant also provided his comments on the note. On that basis, the application on the first issue was found not receivable as it did not disclose any administrative decision that had any direct legal consequences on the Applicant’s contract or terms of his employment. On the second issue...
Public interest, transparency, scrutiny and accountability are not impaired by the removal of the Applicant’s name from the public domain. Consequently, and taking into consideration the sensitive nature of the facts, which involve alleged “sexual exploitation of a vulnerable person”, the Tribunal grants the Applicant’s request for anonymity. The decision not to renew the Applicant’s fixed-term appointment, communicated to him on 23 September 2019, is not grounded on disciplinary considerations, which were the subject of the instant case, and constitutes an autonomous administrative decision...
No new evidence is to be filed by the parties with their closing submission and pursuant to the principle of equality of arms, both parties must have the opportunity to test the evidence on record. Disciplinary proceedings within the Organization do not amount to criminal procedures. Use of video footage from an external entity during the investigation is not illegal as UNHC rules provide that investigators may avail themselves of external supporting evidence. Sick leave requests must be approved by a staff member’s service/Human Resources section or the respective Medical Service. The...
The IOO audit, indeed, did not have the character of a disciplinary investigation into any possible wrongdoing(s), including misconduct, of the Applicant. Rather, as argued by the Applicant, it appears that no disciplinary process whatsoever was undertaken. Consequently, the Applicant was not afforded any of the mandatory procedural safeguards outlined in para. 35(a)-(c) of the Judgment, namely (a) the right to be advised of the allegation of misconduct, (b) the right to comment thereupon, and (c) the right to be represented be a lawyer before the decision on misconduct was made and the...