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UNAT held that UNDT had violated the Appellant’s due process rights by not rendering a fully reasoned judgment and had thus committed an error in procedure such as to affect the decision of the case. UNAT held that UNDT should have examined and stated in its judgment whether there was clear and convincing evidence that the Appellant continued to fight in a severe manner causing physical injury. UNAT held that UNDT should have addressed the question as to whether there was clear and convincing evidence that the Appellant had used physical force against a driver in April 2013, especially since...

UNAT considered both of the Appellant’s cases in their judgment. UNAT held that it was not persuaded that UNRWA DT erred in deciding that the decision to close the cases arising from the Appellant’s complaints was lawful. UNAT noted that UNRWA DT’s decision was justified based on careful consideration of the Appellant’s arguments and evidence gathered during the investigation. However, UNAT held that the characterization of the decision to terminate the Appellant’s fixed-term appointment as a disciplinary measure tainted the process to such a significant degree that it rendered the decision...

UNAT held that the UNDT properly dismissed the Appellant’s claims in relation to the non-renewal of his appointment and his reassignment as not receivable as they were time-barred. On the cancellation of his administrative leave, UNAT held that UNDT correctly found that there was no adverse decision affecting his conditions of employment. UNAT held that the decision to terminate the administrative leave and not to pursue disciplinary action was not an administrative decision in that it did not have any adverse legal consequences or impact for the Appellant. UNAT held that the decision to...

On the decision to postpone the separation on medical grounds, UNAT noted that a staff member had a right to be compensated for a service-incurred injury. UNAT found that UNRWA DT erred in law in determining the decision to postpone the Appellant’s separation on medical grounds until the end of the disciplinary process was lawful. Noting that the Appellant did not provide any evidence in support of his claim of psychological suffering (or harm), UNAT did not award moral compensation. On the issue of the SLWOP, given the nature and seriousness of the allegations against the Appellant, UNRWA DT...

Noting that it was clear that the intention was to revisit the earlier decisions by conducting a review of affected staff, to decide the matter afresh, and to issue new notifications, UNAT held that the June decision went beyond mere reiteration and constituted a fresh administrative decision impliedly substituting the previous decision. UNAT held that UNDT erred in its findings that the Application was not receivable. UNAT upheld the appeal, vacated the UNDT judgment, and remanded the case to UNDT for consideration on the merits.

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General which was limited to the UNDT’s award of compensation in lieu of rescission, which he claimed was excessive. UNAT held that since the Secretary-General did not contest Ms Sarrouh’s claim for compensation before UNDT, he could not raise the issue on appeal. UNAT held that UNDT’s award of in-lieu compensation was based on the uncontested evidence before it and as such, its findings were not unreasonable and it did not commit any error in its assessment of the compensation award. UNAT held that in the absence of any error of law or manifestly...

UNAT considered the Secretary-General’s appeal. UNAT dismissed Mr Rajan’s motion for the appeal to be heard on an expedited basis as it had become moot as the ordinary case management constraints meant it could not have been heard any earlier. UNAT held that the UNDT made an error of law in holding that the Secretary-General was obliged to prove that Mr Rajan had the intention to mislead the Organisation. UNAT held that there was no doubt that Mr Rajan misrepresented the true situation more than once. UNAT held that it was Mr Rajan’s responsibility to ascertain that he was providing accurate...

UNAT held that the Appellant’s fixed-term appointment was lawfully terminated in accordance with the amended terms of her appointment and that her appeal had no merit. UNAT held that the Appellant failed to meet the burden of proof of the alleged improper motivation for the decision. UNAT noted that UNFCCC advertised nine fixed-term positions at the G-5 level, but that the Appellant did not apply for any of them, her aim being to secure a P-2 level position. UNAT found no fault in UNDT’s conclusion that the Administration had no duty to seek a suitable position for the Applicant beyond the...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General and a cross-appeal by Mr Ibrahim. UNAT held, agreeing with UNDT, that there was nothing illegal or warranting compensation in the investigation process and the investigation was not vitiated by procedural error or improper motive. Accordingly, UNAT dismissed the cross-appeal. UNAT held that the bottle of wine disappeared immediately after Mr Ibrahim had handled it for the second time in front of the camera and then with his back obstructing the camera. UNAT held that, apart from the direct link between the manipulation of the bottle of wine by...

UNAT held that there was no evidence before it to support the contention that UNRWA DT erred in law. UNAT upheld the findings of UNRWA DT that there was no evidence that the decision to abolish the Appellant’s post was arbitrary or capricious, motivated by prejudice or extraneous factors, or was flawed by procedural irregularity or error of law. UNAT held that there was evidence of a process that was motivated by budgetary constraints as well as concerns about the effective management of a redundancy process. UNAT found no procedural irregularity or any error in law on the part of UNRWA DT...