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UNAT considered an appeal against judgment No. UNDT/2010/146 on compensation by the Secretary-General. UNAT held that once a judgment on the merits has been vacated and no liability on the part of the Administration has been established, a judgment on compensation cannot stand if it would be contrary to the final decision on the merits of the case. UNAT held that an appeal against the judgment on compensation was not necessary if the legal basis for the award of compensation by UNDT no longer existed. UNAT dismissed the appeal (as unnecessary) and vacated the UNDT judgment.

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal. UNAT rejected the Secretary-General’s submission that UNDT erred in “double-counting” by using the same element of Mr Andersson’s high chance of promotion to justify both its award of CHF 10,000 in lieu of rescission, as well as its award of CHF 4,000 for moral damages. The claim for moral damages was related to the reparation of an injury, that could not be regarded as covered by the payment of CHF 10,000 awarded as an alternative to rescission. UNAT also rejected the Secretary-General’s submission that Mr Andersson only fleetingly referred to...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General limited to UNDT’s competence with regards to the nature of the redress granted to Ms Farr. UNAT held that UNDT exceeded its competence in ordering that Ms Farr’s name be placed on the roster because the legal consequence of the annulment of the selection procedure was restricted to placing the staff member in the same position she would have been in if the illegality had not occurred. UNAT held that, to afford Ms Farr proper redress, she should be allowed to take a second oral exam in French, with adequate assurances concerning the...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal and Mr Terragnolo’s cross-appeal, noting that only the compensation awarded by UNDT was being contested. With respect to the Secretary-General’s appeal, UNAT held that the specific remedy of allowing Mr Terragnolo to take the examination was not available and therefore, subsidiary compensation was the appropriate remedy to be ordered. UNAT noted that the impugned judgment followed UNAT’s jurisprudence, but UNDT’s estimation of the loss of chance was absurd or contrary to the evidence and particular circumstances of the case. UNAT held that due...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal and Mr Terragnolo’s cross-appeal, noting that only the compensation awarded by UNDT was being contested. With respect to the Secretary-General’s appeal, UNAT held that the specific remedy of allowing Mr Terragnolo to take the examination was not available and therefore, subsidiary compensation was the appropriate remedy to be ordered. UNAT noted that the impugned judgment followed UNAT’s jurisprudence, but UNDT’s estimation of the loss of chance was absurd or contrary to the evidence and particular circumstances of the case. UNAT held that due...

UNAT considered the appeal and allowed it in part. UNAT held that the Appellant’s claim that the AJAB found a series of violations of her rights as a staff member, but had not awarded commensurate compensation, had merit. UNAT held that the IACO breaches identified by the AJAB were fundamental in nature, (i. e. The treating of a temporary assignment as permanent, discrimination of the staff member, failure to make good faith efforts to find alternative positions, and refusing to provide access to personnel and confidential files) and the breach itself gave rise to an award of moral damages by...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Commissioner-General of the order rescinding the decision to transfer the Appellant and the moral damages award. On the Commissioner-General’s argument that UNDT unduly fettered its discretion to award compensation in lieu of specific performance, UNAT held that, absent any error of law or manifestly unreasonable factual findings, which were not evident, UNAT would not interfere with the discretion vested in UNRWA DT to decide on remedy. UNAT held that, in all of the circumstances of the case, it was not persuaded by the Commissioner-General’s argument that...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal and found that UNDT erred in law and fact by awarding a remedy to Mr Nwuke. UNAT held that the violation of Mr Nwuke’s due process rights did not, in and of itself, entitle him to an award of damages and that there was no evidence of any pecuniary loss or harm suffered by Mr Nwuke as a result of said violation. Moreover, UNAT held that not every violation of a staff member’s right will necessarily lead to an award of compensation and there are no legal grounds that can justify such an award when no actual prejudice is found. UNAT accordingly...

UNAT considered Mr Krioutchkov’s appeal as well as the Secretary-General’s cross-appeal. UNAT preliminarily denied Mr Krioutchkov’s request for an oral hearing after finding that it would not assist in the expeditious and fair disposal of the case. UNAT held that Mr Krioutchkov’s application was receivable by UNDT and noted that, in order to trigger the statutory time limits for each selection decision, it is necessary for the Administration to notify the unsuccessful candidates of the issuance of each of such decisions. To that end, Mr Krioutchkov only learned at the beginning of February...

UNAT affirmed UNDT’s rescission of the decision to maintain the classification, reaffirming the right of staff members to request reclassification when the duties and responsibilities of their posts changed substantially as a result of restructuring within their office. However, UNAT reversed UNDT’s order to remand the case to the Administration, stating that a second remand was unviable and unfair having regard to the fact that the protracted classification review process was mainly due to the reluctance and failure of management to follow their own rules, regulations and administrative...