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The Secretary-General¡¯s appeal and Mr Cabrera¡¯s cross-appeal centred on the issue of whether placing a staff member on SLWFP violates their due process rights. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT noted that, in this case, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT created a new class of special leave, where the staff member was actually suspended with full pay. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT did not agree with the Secretary-General¡¯s contention that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT erred in concluding that the Office of Internal Oversight Services¡¯ investigation was not a preliminary investigation, as Mr Cabrera was put on leave using all the reasons under which he could be suspended. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT found that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT...

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the Appellant¡¯s submissions were largely a reiteration of his arguments before Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT did not err in finding that there was no indication that the non-renewal decision or other incidents amounted to harassment. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT did not err when it concluded that the behaviours at stake, even when viewed together, did not point to any kind of prohibited conduct in the sense of ST/SGB/2008/5. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT¡¯s findings that the advice given to the Appellant regarding uncertified sick leave was correct. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the Appellant¡¯s allegation that...

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT was correct to find that there was no breach of Mr Powell¡¯s due process rights at the preliminary investigation stage. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT manifestly erred in fact and in law by finding that the investigations conducted by the Board of Inquiry (BOI) and the Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) Team were final investigations and by then attaching due process rights that were pertinent only after the initiation of disciplinary proceedings. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT allowed the appeal, set aside the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT findings in paragraphs 86 and 106 of the...

As a preliminary issue, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA DT did not follow the proper procedure when it allowed the Respondent to participate in the proceedings without a formal request for waiver of time limit for filing its answer and taking part in the trial. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that another significant irregularity took place during the proceedings before Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA DT, in light of which Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT was compelled to annul the judgment and remand the case for a de novo consideration by a different Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA DT Judge, namely that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA DT committed an error in procedure when it denied the Appellant¡¯s request for a copy of the...

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT considered the Secretary-General¡¯s appeal. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT erred by concluding that ST/AI/2002/3 applied to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF, as the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF Handbook establishes the procedure that a staff member must follow should they wish to rebut the content of their performance report. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT noted that the principle articulated in Villamoran v. Secretary-General of the United Nations (2011-Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT-160), which holds that administrative issuances have greater legal authority over manuals such as the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF Handbook, only where there is a conflict between guidelines and manuals and a properly promulgated...

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT preliminarily dismissed the Appellant¡¯s Application for Confidentiality and then considered the merits of the Appeal, which contained three grounds. With respect to the first ground, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT did not err in concluding that due process was satisfied if the staff member could comment on anonymous witness statements providing evidence against him. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT noted that the reasons for withholding the identities of the victims and for not producing them at trial were contained in the OIOS Investigation Report that was sent to the Appellant, thus the conditions for the admissibility for...

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT considered an appeal by the Appellant of judgment No. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA/DT/2015/003. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the Appellant failed to demonstrate that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA DT erred in any way when it dismissed her application finding it to be moot, an outcome which was a natural consequence of the administrative rescission of the impugned decision, circumstances that contemplated the staff member¡¯s claim and rights, solving the previous irregularity. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT noted that the Appellant¡¯s request to amend her application to seek compensation for material and moral damages was filed after she had received notification of the...

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the Appellant, though entitled to receive a summary of the findings of the investigation report, was not entitled to receive a copy of the full investigation report without showing exceptional circumstances, which he did not do and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT, therefore, upheld the findings of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT on this point. On compensation, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT noted that the Appellant presented no evidence to prove that the violation of the three-month deadline undermined the investigation and the outcome of the complaint, or that he suffered actual prejudice. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the Administration¡¯s offer of USD 1,000 was...

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the decision to set up a fact-finding panel was not, in and of itself, a decision relating to the contractual rights of a staff member. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that such a decision was preliminary in nature and irregularities in connection with that decision, including alleged delay in reaching that decision, may only be challenged in the context of an appeal after the conclusion of the entire process. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT¡¯s conclusion that the application was receivable was without legal basis as was its award of compensation. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that...

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the matter under investigation was closed and the Appellant had not presented any cogent argument to show that there were exceptional circumstances that might otherwise have entitled him to the investigation report. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that the Appellant was not entitled to receive a detailed copy of the investigation report. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that there was no evidence to support the argument that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT erred on questions of law and fact. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT judgment.