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The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT noted with concern that the JAB had been dismantled temporarily without prior warning given to ISA staff members and with no reasons provided by the Administration; it was also alarming that the Administration had dismantled the JAB with no successor in place, denying the staff members access to justice in the interim. The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT found that there were no judgments or decisions from the JAB against which the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT could evaluate the requested relief. The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the motions had become moot as the JAB had since been reconstituted and a panel to consider the requests for suspension...

The Tribunal noted that the issue of contention was whether a staff member seconded to the Secretariat, from a fund or programme in the United Nations System, is ¡°serving with the United Nations Secretariat under a fixed-term appointment¡± for purposes of eligibility for a continuing appointment. At the time of the contested decision, the Applicant was a staff member of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF (a Programme) but serving on secondment in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵEP (part of the Secretariat).

Based on the evidence on record, the Tribunal concluded that it was clear that under the Inter-Organization Agreement and the letters of...

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT noted that the Administration had initiated a preliminary investigation into the staff member¡¯s conduct with regard to the ostensible theft of cash from the office safe, reached agreements with him regarding repayment, and then sought initiation of criminal proceedings by filing a criminal complaint and delivering him to the local police. The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT found that because the underlying facts of the case involved his conduct as a United Nations staff member towards his employer, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT should have been competent to review his application on the merits, had it been timely filed.

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT...

The Secretary-General filed an appeal.

The Appeals Tribunal found that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT 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 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT 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...

It was established by the evidence on record that the Applicant engaged in unauthorized contacts with Member States and the EU, media outlets and social media. It was also undisputed that said external communications included allegations that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and its officials were involved in serious acts of misconduct and crimes of international law, including complicity in genocide.

What was left to be determined was whether the Applicant had a lawful justification for her conduct under the Protection Against Retaliation (PAR) Policy, and whether said conduct legally amounted to misconduct.

With...

Whether the Applicant is entitled to maternity leave under staff rule 6.3(a)

While the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations is not a treaty, art. 31.1 of the VCLT sets forth generally accepted rules for interpreting an international document, which refers to interpretation according to the ¡°ordinary meaning¡± of the terms ¡°in their context and in the light of its object and purpose¡± (see, e.g., Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Administrative Tribunal Judgment No. 942, Merani (1999), para. VII; Avognon et al. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT/2020/151, para. 50; Andreeva et al. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT/2020/122, para. 64; Applicant Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT/2021/165, para. 37).

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the JAB made considerable internal changes in its law to satisfy the requirements of Article 2(10) of the Appeals Tribunal Statute. It found that the JAB no longer provided only advice or mere recommendations to the ISA Secretary-General, but rather final decisions and, therefore, was a neutral first instance process.

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT found that the plain reading of the facts left no doubt that: i) at the time when the contested decision was taken, there was no willingness of abandonment of post by the Appellant; ii) despite his poor mental health condition that was medically...

As a preliminary matter, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the Joint Appeals Board (JAB) had provided a decision as required by Article 2(10) of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT Statute and therefore Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT had jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Further, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT 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 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT Rules of Procedure and therefore denied the request for an oral hearing. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT 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...

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the ISA JAB was correct in determining that Ms. Nguyen was: (1) not entitled to a repatriation grant from ISA; (2) not entitled to payment for unused accrued annual leave, which was transferred to her subsequent employer, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA; (3) not entitled to reimbursement for certain school supply expenses; and (4) not entitled to the non-removal allowance, which was a discontinued benefit. However, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT also held that the ISA JAB erred in denying Ms. Nguyen a relocation grant, and erred in denying her the travel expenses and travel time from Kingston, Jamaica to New York. The...

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the staff member was responsible for having agreed that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT should hear no direct evidence from witnesses in person but should decide the matter on the documents submitted. As an inquisitorial and not a solely adversarial tribunal, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT could nevertheless have held a hearing. The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT found that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT was entitled to conclude on the complainant¡¯s evidence alone that the staff member had engaged in a sexual relationship with her. Their sexual relationship was employment-related and thereby transactional. The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT was entitled to conclude that this was an...