UNDT/2013/082, Garcia-Webster
Following successful settlement discussions, the Applicant filed a motion to withdraw her application, confirming that she was withdrawing all of her allegations and claims. The UNDT stated in the judgment that, the dispute having been settled by way of a settlement agreement, the Applicant withdrew her case fully, finally, and entirely, including on the merits. The case was closed without liberty to reinstate or appeal.
The Applicant filed an application contesting the application of ST/AI/2007/3 (After-service health insurance) instead of ST/AI/394 (After-service health insurance) to her particular circumstances, thus rendering her ineligible for after-service health insurance.
Finality of disputes: The desirability of finality of disputes in proceedings requires that a party should be able to raise a valid defence of res judicata which provides that a matter between the same persons, involving the same cause of action may not be adjudicated twice. Res judicata: Once a matter has been determined, parties should not be able to re-litigate the same issue. An issue, broadly speaking, is a matter of fact or question of law in a dispute between two or more parties which a court is called upon to decide and pronounce itself on in its judgment. The object of the res judicata rule is that “there must be an end to litigation” in order “to ensure the stability of the judicial process” (Meron 2012-UNAT-198).Judgment: Generally, a judgment involves a final determination of the proceedings or of a particular issue in those proceedings.