2024-UNAT-1466, Fouad Moustafa El-Anani
The UNAT rejected the new arguments and evidence submitted to the Appeals Tribunal for the first time that were aimed to show that Mr. El-Anani had not read the attachment of the e-mail that communicated the disciplinary sanction.
The UNAT confirmed that, the two Microsoft Outlook notification records acknowledged by Mr. El-Anani indicated that the contested decision had been delivered to and read by him on 28 March 2023 and that he was therefore required to file his application with the UNDT by no later than 26 June 2023. Since Mr. Al-Anani did not file the application until 28 June 2023, two days past the 90-day deadline, his application was rendered time-barred.
The UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT Judgment.
A former staff member contested the imposition on him of the disciplinary measure of separation from service with compensation in lieu of notice and without termination indemnity.
In Judgment No. UNDT/2023/074, the UNDT found Mr. El-Anani’s application not receivable ratione temporis, as the application had not been submitted timeously.
Mr. El-Anani appealed.
New arguments and evidence submitted to the Appeals Tribunal for the first time without filing a motion providing exceptional circumstances in advance are not admissible.
The date a decision is received constitutes an objective standard, regardless of whether the recipient knows it, reads it, or opens the attachment with it.
Unspecified international law or domestic law is not the applicable legal framework for applications before the UNDT.
Notifications of administrative decisions are valid even if communicated during a staff member’s annual leave.
E-mails sent outside working hours to staff members are considered received on the day sent.
The right to receive legal assistance does not guarantee the right to be represented by OSLA.