¹ú²úAV

The Tribunal found that filling a vacancy by laterally transferring a staff member holding the same grade and within the department of the vacant post, without undergoing a full-fledged selection procedure under the staff selection system, does not per se violate the applicable legal framework. Lateral transfer under sec. 2.5 of ST/AI/2010/3: Sec. 2.5 of ST/AI/2010/3 explicitly provides for the possibility of transferring staff within their departments or offices to job openings at the same level without following the procedures laid down in the staff selection system. This provision does not contradict art. 101.3 of the UN Charter or staff regulation 4.2, nor General Assembly resolutions requesting the Secretary-General to publish vacancies. Conditions for resorting to lateral transfers: Lateral transfers do not constitute an exception to the Staff Rules. Exceptions are ad hoc departures from the prescriptions set out in the rules, whereas transfers are built in the legal framework, in this case, in the staff selection system. Lateral transfers are thus not subject to the conditions of staff rule 12.3(b). The UN legislator did not place restrictions or conditions other than those laid down in sec. 2.5 of ST/AI/2010/3. Interpretation of sec. 2.5 of ST/AI/2010/3: Sec. 2.5 allows a lateral move to be effected without advertisement of the post. This does not bar the Administration from internally circulating the vacancy; such a publication is not a regular advertisement under Inspira and does not trigger the application of the general regime of the staff selection system. In addition, a staff member’s transfer to a clearly distinct post should be considered as a lateral move for the purposes of ST/AI/2010/3, even if the functions of the former and the new posts are similar.