UNDT/2010/097, Lutta
Article 10(5) of the Statute of the UNDT is silent as to how compensation to be awarded to a party is to be calculated. The Respondent submits that in such circumstances where there is a lacuna in the internal law of the organization, general principles of law provide a source of internal administrative law and should be applied. The Tribunal agrees with this reasoning and further notes that how this Article will be applied will depend on the particular circumstances of each case. The recognized heads of damage are: actual pecuniary loss; damages for procedural error and moral damages. An additional head of damage is contained in Article 10(6) of the UNDT Statute, that is, an award of costs where a party has manifestly abused the proceedings before the Tribunal. The Tribunal does not consider this list to be exhaustive. The Applicant is entitled to compensation for the loss of chance for being barred from applying for the two posts as a result of the failures by the Respondent in relation to his case, however, the Tribunal will not speculate as to whether or not the Applicant would have been selected for the said posts. Moral damages are assessed in a rather arbitrary manner in many national jurisdictions. The international Tribunals have fallen back on equity to assess damages.
The Applicant challenged his treatment by the Administration surrounding him being charged with misconduct and sought compensation for the harm caused. The facts giving rise to the application before the Tribunal are contained in UNDT Judgment No. 052 (2010). In the said Judgment, having found in favor of the Applicant, the Tribunal directed the parties to provide written submissions as to the appropriate relief that should be ordered by or before close of business Friday, 9 April 2010, which date was subsequently extended to Friday 16 April 2010.
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The Respondent is ordered to pay the Applicant: three months’ net base salary as compensation for the loss of chance for being barred for consideration for the two posts with interest at 8% beginning 90 days from the date of issuance of this Judgment until payment is effected; US$ 4,760 as compensation for his travel costs for the period 20 November 2007 to 2 May 2009 with interest at 8% beginning 90 days from the date of issuance of this Judgment until payment is effected; six months’ net base salary as compensation for moral damages with interest at 8% beginning 90 days from the date of issuance of this Judgment until payment is effected; and rejects all other pleas.