¹ú²úAV

UNDT/2021/012

UNDT/2021/012, Richards

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

The deadline for the Applicant’s request for compensation for any alleged irregularity in the handling of his complaint of misconduct started on 27 June 2019 when he was notified of the outcome of the complaint. The 27 June 2019 notification rendered the decision resulting from the Applicant’s complaint final and therefore reviewable under art. 2.1(a) of the Tribunal’s Statute. Consequently, the notification date starts the clock running for any challenge of such administrative decision. Under staff rule 11.2(c), the Applicant had 60 days to request management evaluation of the contested administrative decision as of the date of the notification of the outcome of his complaint, that is, as of 27 June 2019. As he only requested management evaluation on 8 January 2020, the Applicant missed the deadline and the application is therefore not receivable ratione materiae. The Applicant’s 22 November 2019 email could not have reasonably been construed as a request for compensation. The Applicant, a staff member in the professional category, clearly stated that he was seeking guidance as to the available procedures to request compensation for the harm caused by the irregularities in the handling of his complaint. The Administration cannot reasonably be expected to second-guess a message that is unequivocal in its wording.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

The decision not to award compensation for harm caused by the irregularities vitiating the investigation process following a complaint of misconduct.

Outcome
Dismissed as not receivable

OAJ prepared this case law summary for informational purposes only. It is no official record and should not be relied upon as an authoritative interpretation of the Tribunals' rulings. For the authoritative texts, please refer to the judgment or order rendered by the respective Tribunal. The Tribunals are the only bodies competent to interpret their respective judgments, as provided under Article 12(3) of the UNDT Statute and Article 11(3) of the UNAT Statute. Any inaccuracies in the publication are the sole responsibility of OAJ, which should be contacted directly for any correction requests. To provide comments, don't hesitate to get in touch with OAJ at oaj@un.org.

The judgment summaries were generally prepared in English. They were translated into French and are being reviewed for accuracy of the translation.

Applicants/Appellants
Richards
Entity
Case Number(s)
Tribunal
Registry :
Date of Judgement
Language of Judgment
Issuance Type