Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT Held or Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT Pronouncements
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT did not make an error of law in concluding that the Appellant¡¯s application was not receivable ratione materiae. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT correctly concluded that there was no implied administrative decision to challenge at the time the Appellant filed his judicial review application and that his application was also not receivable on that basis. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT found no errors of fact or law by Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT in awarding costs against the Appellant. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that the Appellant was well-aware of his obligation to comply with Staff Rule 11.2(a), yet he: (a) intentionally failed to seek management evaluation of a written decision and, nevertheless, filed an application for judicial review; and (b) filed an application for judicial review when it was unreasonable for him to assume there was an implied decision. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT did not err when it considered the huge volume of unnecessary documents filed to support the frivolous application as another factor supporting its conclusion that the Appellant manifestly abused the proceedings. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT denied the appeal and affirmed the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT judgment.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
The Applicant contested the decision not to conduct an investigation under ST/SGB/2008/5. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT found the application not to be receivable ratione materiae.
Legal Principle(s)
A request for management evaluation of an administrative decision must be submitted by the staff member prior to bringing an application before Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT. A staff member must be familiar with the Staff Rules and understand his or her obligation to act in conformity with those rules. The date of an implied administrative decision is based on objective elements that both parties can accurately determine. Where Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT determines that a party has manifestly abused the proceedings before it, it may award costs against that party.