2016-Ģ��ƵAT-637

Ģ��ƵAT Held or Ģ��ƵDT Pronouncements

Ģ��ƵAT considered the appeal by the Secretary-General challenging the amount of the award of compensation for moral damages. Ģ��ƵAT held that the award of moral damages was supported by the evidence before Ģ��ƵDT and that the amount was not excessive based on that evidence. Ģ��ƵAT rejected the Secretary-General��s argument that the award in the present case should be compared with awards in similar non-renewal cases. Ģ��ƵAT held that Ģ��ƵDT had not committed any error in its assessment of the award of moral damages and that the Secretary-General had not established any ground which would justify Ģ��ƵAT��s interference. Ģ��ƵAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the Ģ��ƵDT judgment.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

The Applicant contested the decision not to renew her contract beyond December 31, 2013, on the grounds of unsatisfactory service, although her Standard Assignment Length (SAL) had been extended until December 31, 2014. Ģ��ƵDT found that the decision not to renew the Applicant��s appointment based on performance-related reasons was unlawful because the Administration had not followed the Ģ��ƵHCR��s policies on performance management. Ģ��ƵDT held that the extension of the SAL had given the Applicant a legitimate expectation that her one-year fixed-term appointment would be renewed until 31 December 2014. Ģ��ƵDT ordered the rescission of the non-renewal decision and, as an alternative to the rescission, the payment of compensation in lieu. Ģ��ƵDT additionally awarded the Applicant six months�� net base salary compensation for moral damage for the medical harm caused to her as a result of the decision not to renew her contract.

Legal Principle(s)

The criterion for an award of moral damages is the degree of injury suffered by the individual staff member as a result of the unlawful decision. That the type of unlawful decision is the same as in several other cases does not establish that the degree of moral damage must be similar in each case. The assessment of an award of moral damages is made on a case-by-case basis according to the discretion of the Tribunal.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed on merits

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The judgment summaries were generally prepared in English. They were translated into French and are being reviewed for accuracy of the translation.

Applicants/Appellants

Maslei

Entity

Case Number(s)

Tribunal

Registry

Date of Judgement