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Le TANU a rejeté la demande de révision, estimant qu'aucun des faits nouveaux allégués n'était un "fait nouveau" au sens de l'article 11, paragraphe 1, du statut du TANU. Les faits nouveaux allégués étaient soit survenus après le prononcé de l'arrêt du TANU, soit connus du Tribunal d'appel, soit des questions de droit.

Le TANU a accueilli la demande de correction en partie, dans la mesure où il a accepté l'argument de Mme Raschdorf selon lequel une erreur s'est produite au paragraphe 44 de l'arrêt du TANU, où le TANU a fait référence à tort au Comité consultatif pour les demandes d...

Le TANU a estimé que le DT de l'UNRWA avait correctement identifié plusieurs irrégularités de procédure dans la décision contestée.  Conformément au paragraphe 9 de l'instruction technique 02/2016 du Département des services de contrôle interne (DIOS) sur la politique d'enquête de l'UNRWA (DTI 02/2016), l'enquête aurait dû être autorisée dans les 10 jours suivant le rapport du comité d'accueil ; or, en l'espèce, il a fallu attendre 11 mois pour obtenir l'autorisation d'enquêter.  Le TANU a estimé que ce délai était si excessif qu'il aurait été pénible pour une personne moyenne.

Analysant les...

The UNAT held that the UNRWA DT correctly identified several procedural irregularities in the contested decision.  Pursuant to paragraph 9 of the Department of Internal Oversight Services (DIOS) Technical Instruction 02/2016 on UNRWA’s Investigation Policy (DTI 02/2016), the investigation should have been authorized within 10 days of the Intake Committee’s report; yet here, the authorization to investigate took 11 months to be given.  The UNAT found that this delay was so excessive that it would distress an average person.

Analyzing the evidence presented by the staff member regarding the...

The UNAT dismissed the application for revision, finding that none of the alleged new facts were “new facts” for the purpose of Article 11(1) of the UNAT Statute. The alleged new facts either occurred after the issuance of the UNAT Judgment, were known to the Appeals Tribunal, or matters of law.

The UNAT granted the application for correction in part, to the extent that the UNAT agreed with Ms. Raschdorf's argument that an error arose in paragraph 44 of the UNAT Judgment where the UNAT wrongly referred to the Advisory Board on Compensation Claims instead of the Pension Fund. 

Finally, the...

The UNAT held that with no evidence of a manifest abuse of proceedings by the Commissioner-General before the UNRWA DT, nor any finding by the UNRWA DT of such an abuse of proceedings, the legal cost orders made by the Dispute Tribunal did not accord with the terms of Article 10 of the UNRWA DT Statute and were therefore unjustified and could not be sustained.  Moreover, if the UNAT considered that the legal costs were awarded by the UNRWA DT under Article 10(5)(b) (which was not apparent from the Judgment), there existed no basis to justify such an order given the evidence before the Dispute...

The UNAT held that the UNDT properly applied the legal framework governing the termination of appointments for unsatisfactory performance.  The UNAT found that the staff member was aware of the required performance standard for his post and that he had been given a fair opportunity to meet this standard.  The UNAT observed that he had received “partially meets performance expectations” for two performance cycles, and “does not meet expectations” for the most recent performance cycle.  He had also been placed on a performance improvement plan, but failed to meet all of the objectives of the PIP...

The UNAT noted that the staff member had telecommuted from his home country for the entire academic year. The UNAT found that payment of the educational grant required the physical presence of the staff member at their official duty station, with such payment to be suspended or adjusted for the period that they were telecommuting from outside the official duty station.

The UNAT held that it was not open to the staff member to rely on a defence that the Administration be estopped from relying on the applicable provisions in its interpretation of the circumstances under which the education...

The UNAT held that by requesting management evaluation of the negative outcome of the reclassification process, the staff member breached procedural prerequisites.  Instead, he should have appealed the contested decision as laid down in Sections 5 and 6 of ST/AI/1998/9 (System for the classification of posts).  As the staff member’s application was not receivable, the UNAT found that it could not consider his submissions and additional evidence concerning the merits of the case.  The UNAT denied the staff member’s request for compensation in light of its decision to affirm the impugned...

The UNAT found that an objective reading of the staff member’s request for decision review showed clearly that she had only contested the second and not the first reprimand, both issued for not performing assigned teaching tasks. The UNAT considered references to the official having issued it, its date and the remedy sought indicated in the request. The UNAT therefore held that the UNRWA DT had not erred in fact or in law when it considered that the staff member had not submitted a request for decision review in respect of the first reprimand and found the application in the respective part...

The UNAT held that the former staff member failed to provide evidence to prove entitlement to compensation for harm suffered.  In particular, the UNAT found that no evidence was submitted proving a nexus between the illegality committed and any harm suffered by the former staff member as a result.  The UNAT highlighted that the medical report submitted by the former staff member recorded that she had complained of lack of sleep and headaches “for several years” and that such symptoms were consistent with a previous diagnosed medical condition.

As to the costs of the appeal, since there was no...

The UNAT noted that the staff member had requested to be reclassified at Grade HL7 in her e-mail dated 2 January 2017 and her subsequent communications had been reiterations of that request.

The UNAT held that the Administration should compensate the actual loss of income the staff member incurred from the moment her reclassification should have been implemented. The UNAT found that the UNWRA DT had appropriately considered the time limit of six months reasonable. The UNAT concluded that the UNRWA DT had not erred in law or fact in holding that she should be paid the difference in salary and...

The UNAT held that the UNDT Judge was not obligated to indicate their inclination on the evidence, especially since all evidence had not yet been presented. 

Considering various elements, including the Investigation Report, the WhatsApp message exchanges, and the former staff member’s admissions, the UNAT found the Complainant’s account of events credible.  It concluded that the former staff member’s alleged conduct of calling the Complainant to his room on 1 August 2020 and asking her to come to his bed was established by clear and convincing evidence and amounted to sexual harassment.  It...

Le TANU a estimé que l'agent ne remplissait pas les conditions requises pour la révision de l'arrêt antérieur du TANU. Le TANU a constaté que l'agent n'avait avancé aucun fait nouveau qui aurait été inconnu de lui ou du TANU au moment de l'arrêt précédent, ni aucun fait qui aurait été décisif pour la prise de décision s'il avait été connu. Le TANU a estimé que la demande de révision de l'agent se résumait à une reformulation des éléments déjà présentés au TANU, qui avaient été examinés et rejetés, et qu'elle constituait une tentative de faire réexaminer de novo le recours qui avait été tranché...

The UNAT held that the staff member did not fulfil the requirements for revision of the prior UNAT Judgment. The UNAT found that no new fact was advanced by the staff member that had been unknown either to him or the UNAT at the time of the prior Judgment, nor one that would have been decisive in reaching the decision had it been known. The UNAT was of the view that his application for revision amounted to a restatement of the material already placed before the UNAT, which had been considered and rejected, and constituted an attempt to have the appeal, which had been disposed of, re-heard de...

Le TANU a estimé que les tentatives de l'agent pour plaider à nouveau sa cause n'avaient pas permis d'identifier une quelconque erreur susceptible d'être examinée dans le jugement du TNDU, ce qui justifiait à lui seul le rejet de son recours.  En tout état de cause, indépendamment du bien-fondé de sa demande, le TANU a estimé que sa requête était prescrite en vertu de l'article 8, paragraphe 4, du statut du TANU, puisqu'elle l'avait introduite 27 ans après avoir reçu la décision contestée.  Rappelant qu'aucun des deux tribunaux n'est habilité à prolonger les délais dans ces circonstances, le...

The UNAT held that the staff member’s attempts to reargue her case failed to identify any reviewable error in the UNDT Judgment, warranting alone dismissal of her appeal.  In any event, regardless of the merits of her claim, the UNAT found that her application was time-barred under Article 8(4) of the UNDT Statute since she filed it 27 years after her receipt of the contested decision.  Recalling that there is no authority given to either tribunal to extend time limits in these circumstances, the UNAT concluded that the UNDT was correct to conclude that her application was not receivable.

The...

L’UNAT a estimé que le Tribunal a commis plusieurs erreurs de droit et de fait, conduisant à un résultat manifestement déraisonnable.

En particulier, l’UNAT a estimé que le Tribunal a commis une erreur en refusant de tenir une audition des preuves que M. Nkoyock cherchait à appeler pour établir sa défense face aux allégations portées contre lui et pour mettre en accusation les témoins du Secrétaire général. Le Tribunal a également commis une erreur en ne parvenant pas à tirer ses propres conclusions sur les faits contestés et en s’appuyant de manière excessive sur les conclusions de l’enquête...

The UNAT found that the UNDT made several errors of law and of fact leading to a manifestly unreasonable outcome. 

In particular, the UNAT found that the UNDT erred in refusing to hold a hearing of evidence that Mr. Nkoyock sought to call to establish his defence to the allegations against him and to impeach the Secretary-General’s witnesses. The UNDT further erred when it failed to reach its own conclusions on disputed facts and relied overly on the internal investigation’s findings. The UNAT found that the UNDT also erred in relying on evidence that it had ruled irrelevant and inadmissible...

Le Secrétaire général a interjeté appel.

Le Tribunal d'appel a estimé que le TDNU avait outrepassé sa compétence et commis une erreur de droit en interprétant l'article 6(3)(a) du Règlement du personnel comme autorisant Mme Barbulescu, en tant que mère commanditaire dans le cadre d'une maternité de substitution, à avoir droit à un congé de maternité, contrairement aux dispositions claires et sans ambiguïté. Statut et Règlement du personnel. Le Tribunal a élargi la portée de l'article 6(3) du Règlement du personnel au point de prendre une décision politique qui relève de la compétence du...

The Secretary-General filed an appeal.

The Appeals Tribunal found that the UNDT exceeded its jurisdiction and erred in law when it interpreted Staff Rule 6(3)(a) as allowing Ms. Barbulescu as a commissioning mother in a surrogacy to be entitled to maternity leave contrary to the clear and unambiguous Staff Regulations and Rules. The UNDT enlarged the scope of Staff Rule 6(3) to an extent that it made a policy decision which is in the purview of the Secretary-General.  Further, the Dispute Tribunal erred in making factual findings without evidence.

The Appeals Tribunal however held that the...