UNDT/2016/011, Reid
he second case was filed to address the Respondent’s contention that the first case was not receivable. The UNDT found that the Applicant was not required to seek management evaluation since the impugned decision followed the completion of a disciplinary process. Pursuant to art. 8.1(d)(ii) of the UNDT Statute, the Applicant was required to file his application with the Tribunal within 90 days from the date of notification of the contested decision. The Applicant, however, first sought management evaluation and subsequently missed the 90-day deadline for filing with the UNDT. The UNDT found that this was not an exceptional case warranting an extension or waiver of the time limit under art. 8.3 of the Statute. The UNDT dismissed the application as not receivable and denied the motion for an extension of time.
The Applicant, a Security Officer with the Department of Safety and Security (“DSS”) of the United Nations Secretariat in New York, filed two cases: (i) an application concerning the decision to issue him a written reprimand and (ii) as a separate case, a motion to refile his initial application and for a waiver of time to submit his application. T
N/AContesting decisions falling under staff rule 11.2(c): Pursuant to staff rule 11.2(b), a staff member against whom “disciplinary or non-disciplinary measures, pursuant to staff rule 10.2, have been imposed following the completion of a disciplinary process” may appeal the imposition of such measures directly to the Dispute Tribunal. Although the language used in staff rules 11.2(b) and 11.4(b) appears permissive, art. 8.1(d)(ii) of the Statute, which has higher legal authority than the Staff Rules, unequivocally states that, where a management evaluation of the contesteddecision is not required, an application shall (i.e., must) be filed within 90 calendar days of the receipt by the applicant of the administrative decision.Effect of request for management evaluation in cases falling under staff rule 11.2(c): Submission by a staff member to management evaluation in cases where it is not required does not take these cases out of the ambit of art. 8.1(d)(ii) of the Statute so as to convert them into cases where evaluation is required, thus changing the applicable time limits for filing with the Tribunal. Thus, the applicable deadline for cases where management evaluation is not required is within 90 calendar days of the applicant’s receipt of the administrative decision. The filing of a management evaluation request when it was not required did not reset the statutory filing deadlines under art. 8.1(d)(ii). The Dispute Tribunal’s Statute clearly does not provide the MEU with any express or implied statutory authority to waive or extend the deadline for the filing of an application with the Tribunal.Compliance with deadlines: The Dispute Tribunal and the United Nations Appeals Tribunal have consistently stressed the importance of complying with statutory deadlines.Ignorance of law: Staff members are presumed to know the rules governing their employment, particularly those pertaining to the basic rights such as the right of appeal.