Judge Halfeld
The Commissioner-General appealed.
The UNAT held that insofar as the Agency's decision of 25 April 2019 rejecting the request for an SPOA might not have been unequivocal, that decision was reiterated in the e-mail of 17 June 2019 leaving no doubt that the Agency had decided then to pay Ms. Abou Salah an SPOA of 15 per cent rather than 25 per cent, possibly in breach of her contract. The fact that other persons subsequently sought to intervene on her behalf did not change that.
The UNAT found that Ms. Abou Salah’s subsequent correspondence, as well as correspondence written on her behalf...
The UNAT considered an appeal by the UNRWA staff members. The UNAT held that the UNRWA DT was incorrect in finding that the reminder letters were not reprimands for the purposes of Appellants being able to challenge the letters’ placement in their official status files. This was because such a reminder could not be considered a neutral action, but rather a warning of any possible disregard of the Agency’s regulatory framework. The UNAT found that to the eyes of an average person, such a reminder is undeniably akin to a reprimand.
The UNAT agreed with the Appellants that there is no UNRWA...
UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNRWA DT Judgment. UNAT held that the UNRWA DT correctly concluded that the decision-maker had not exercised his discretionary power properly, in that the Agency had unlawfully paid Ms. Jarallah an SPOA of 25 per cent instead of an SOA of 35 per cent which was stipulated in her contract of employment.
UNAT found that a valid and binding contract of employment existed between Ms. Jarallah and the Agency. An integral part of Ms. Jarallah's letter of appointment was the Job Description contained in the vacancy announcement with a reference to the 35...
The UNAT considered an appeal by Mr. Dahoud.
The UNAT held that the UNRWA DT correctly found that the disability benefit paid to Mr. Dahoud in accordance with Area Staff Rule 109.7(1) was different from the termination indemnity paid to certain staff members in accordance with Area Staff Rule 109.9.
The UNAT found that despite the Medical Board's conclusion that he had an 8 per cent permanent impairment, this does not necessarily lead to a finding of permanent and total disability, as required by Area Staff Rule 109.7(7), so as to receive the supplemental benefit. Nor does this medical...
The Appeals Tribunal rejected AAD's request for an oral hearing because she provided no persuasive reasons in support of her request.
UNAT held that the Dispute Tribunal erred in determining whether the established facts qualify as misconduct and whether the disciplinary sanctions were proportionate. In its Judgment, the Dispute Tribunal also erred by substituting its determination of the appropriate disciplinary sanction for that of the Administration and, as such, the UNAT concluded that the UNDT Judgment must be vacated. AAD said her actions did not amount to misconduct and sought a...
As a preliminary matter, UNAT held that the Joint Appeals Board (JAB) had provided a decision as required by Article 2(10) of the UNAT Statute and therefore UNAT had jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Further, UNAT held that an oral hearing would not assist with the expeditious and fair disposal of the case as required by Article 18(1) of the UNAT Rules of Procedure and therefore denied the request for an oral hearing. UNAT held that there was no error in the JAB’s decision affirming the contested decision of wrongdoing following the Appellant’s failure to report to work and holding of...
L'UNAT a rejeté la demande de rectification du jugement de M. Zaqqout au motif que M. Zaqqout avait tenté de relancer son affaire au lieu de démontrer des erreurs de la nature de celles censées être couvertes par l'article 11(2), et qu'il n'avait pas expliqué les erreurs importantes retard dans la demande de correction des erreurs alléguées.
L'UNAT a également rejeté la demande de révision du jugement présentée par M. Zaqqout. L'UNAT a estimé qu'il s'agissait de la deuxième demande de révision déposée par M. Zaqqout dans cette affaire, il lui était demandé de démontrer des circonstances...
UNAT dismissed Mr. Zaqqout's application for correction of judgment on the grounds that Mr. Zaqqout attempted to relitigate his case instead of demonstrating mistakes in the nature of those intended to be covered by Article 11(2), and he had failed to explain the significant delay in applying to correct the alleged errors.
UNAT also dismissed Mr. Zaqqout's application for revision of judgment. UNAT found that this being the second application for revision Mr. Zaqqout had filed in this case, he was required to demonstrate exceptional circumstances, a test he did not meet; and that even if the...
M. Hassan a fait appel du jugement du Tribunal.
L'UNAT a estimé que l'appelant n'avait pas démontré que le Tribunal avait commis une erreur en concluant que sa requête n'était pas recevable ratione personae. L'UNAT a conclu qu'au moment de la décision de non-sélection contestée, le requérant avait cessé ses fonctions depuis plus d'un an et n'était plus membre du personnel. Il s'agissait d'un candidat externe qui n'avait pas qualité pour contester la décision de ne pas le sélectionner pour le nouveau poste d'associé à la réinstallation, dans la mesure où la décision n'affectait pas ses anciens...
Mr. Hassan appealed the UNDT judgment.
The UNAT held that the Appellant failed to demonstrate that the UNDT erred in finding that his application was not receivable ratione personae. UNAT concluded that at the time of the contested non-selection decision, the Appellant had been separated from service for more than a year and was no longer a staff member. He was an external candidate with no standing to challenge the decision not to select him for the new position of Resettlement Associate, as the decision was not affecting his former terms of appointment. Moreover, there was no offer of...
Oral hearing: Mr. Izurieta Canova applied in terms of Article 18(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the UNAT for an oral hearing to be held in this case. As this is a straightforward matter, not attended by any factual or legal complexity, UNAT did not consider that a hearing would assist in the expeditious and fair disposal of the case. For that reason, the application for an oral hearing was refused.
The question on appeal was whether the impugned recruitment cancellation decision by the Secretary-General of UNCTAD was a lawful and reasonable exercise of discretion?
The motive for the...
The UNAT noted that the simple issue arising in this appeal was whether it was appropriate and correct for the judge to have proceeded with the application for review of the contested decisions while the motion for recusal was pending. The UNAT held that the straightforward answer is that it was not.
An application for recusal can be brought at any time in the proceedings and is usually a difficult strategic choice for the party making the challenge. Such an application is made, typically, at the moment the party loses confidence in the judge. Its timing will depend on the circumstances. The...
L’UNAT a d’abord répondu à la demande d’audience du membre du personnel. Le fonctionnaire souhaitait présenter au Tribunal des preuves médicales prouvant son incapacité médicale. Le TANU a rejeté cet argument, soulignant que l'appel était une révision du jugement du Tribunal du Tribunal sur la base des éléments de preuve présentés au Tribunal et que le fonctionnaire n'avait pas demandé à présenter de nouveaux éléments de preuve. L'UNAT a également rejeté les arguments selon lesquels le fonctionnaire pourrait profiter de l'audience pour expliquer diverses politiques ou pour proposer une...
The UNAT first addressed the staff member’s request for an oral hearing. The staff member wished to present medical evidence to the Tribunal to prove his medical incapacitation. The UNAT rejected this argument, noting that the appeal was a review of the UNDT judgment based on the evidence presented to the UNDT, and the staff member had not applied to present new evidence. The UNAT also rejected the arguments that the staff member could use the oral hearing to explain various policies or to advance an amicable resolution with the Administration. The request for the oral hearing was denied. ...
The UNAT decided that mistakes in the way the summary dismissal decision was communicated to the appellant did not affect the fact that the real decision had ultimately been taken by the competent person in the Commissioner-General and not by any delegated authority.
It was undisputed that Mr. Mohammad was not afforded the opportunity to comment on the additional evidence produced against him after the re-opening of the investigation (two interviews of student B’s mother and student B). However, neither in his appeal nor in his initial application to the UNRWA DT did he point out any...
L'UNAT a examiné un appel de Mme Mukomah.
L'UNAT a estimé que l'affirmation de Mme Mukomah selon laquelle elle était l'épouse du défunt participant au moment de son décès et avait donc droit, sur cette base, à une prestation de veuvage en vertu de l'article 34 des statuts de la Caisse, n'était pas fondée sur la base des éléments de preuve présentés devant elle. l'UNAT.
L'UNAT a estimé qu'il n'y avait pas suffisamment de preuves prouvant que le défunt participant et Mme Mukomah avaient légalement conclu une (deuxième) union légalement reconnue par l'autorité compétente du Kenya, conférant des...
The UNAT considered an appeal by Ms. Mukomah.
The UNAT held that Ms. Mukomah’s submission that she was the spouse of the late participant at the time of his death and is therefore entitled on that basis to a widow’s benefit under Article 34 of the Fund’s Regulations, was not sustainable based on the evidence before the UNAT.
The UNAT found that there was insufficient evidence proving that the late participant and Ms. Mukomah lawfully entered a (second) union legally recognized by the competent authority of Kenya conferring similar legal effects as a marriage in relation to pension rights...
UNAT considered an appeal by Mr. Al Othman against UNRWA Judgment No. UNRWA/DT/2020/073. It also considered a cross-appeal by the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, to the extent that the Judgment awarded Mr. Al Othman compensation.
UNAT held that there was clear and convincing evidence established that Mr. Al Othman committed the alleged offences. The UNRWA DT conclusions were accurate, based on evidence on record and common knowledge and UNAT found no reason to differ from them. UNAT shared the UNRWA DT’s view that the only reasonable conclusion available to the trial Judge, resulting from the...
Ms. Larriera sought revision of the UNAT judgment on the grounds that new decisive facts had emerged from the French government regarding her relationship with the deceased participant of the UNJSPF, Mr. M. Specifically, she maintains that the French government has endorsed the findings of a Brazilian court that she was in a “stable union” with Mr. M., and that this has also been annotated on the death certificate of Mr. M.
UNAT observed that Ms. Larriera’s application for revision was untimely. In addition, UNAT concluded that these allegedly decisive facts occurred in 2021, well after the...
UNAT considered an appeal by Mr. Webster. UNAT held that although the current legal framework (ISA Staff Rule 11.2), mentions the establishment of a neutral first instance process with staff participation to take a decision upon any appeal by staff members against an administrative decision alleging the non-observance of their terms of appointment, including all pertinent regulations and rules, there is, to this date, no such neutral first instance process. According to the Staff Rules, the JAB Panel shall submit a report to the Secretary-General, who takes the final decision.
While it is...