Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT Held or Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT Pronouncements
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT considered an appeal by the staff member and an appeal by the Secretary-General. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT upheld both Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT¡¯s finding that the decision to close the investigation was improper as well as Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT¡¯s refusal to order rescission of that decision on account of the subject of the investigation having separated from the Organisation. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT, however, vacated Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT¡¯s moral damages award on the grounds that the staff member did not present any evidence, apart from his own unsworn testimony to support the claim. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that ¡°generally speaking, the testimony of an applicant alone without corroboration by independent evidence (expert or otherwise) affirming that non-pecuniary harm has indeed occurred is not satisfactory proof to support an award of damages¡±. As the staff member¡¯s testimony was the only evidence presented to support his allegation of harm to his reputation and general well-being, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT committed an error of law in stating that this alone was sufficient to sustain an award of compensation under Article 10. 5(b) of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT Statute. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT dismissed the staff member¡¯s appeal, granted the Secretary-General¡¯s appeal in part, and vacated the award of damages ordered in judgment No. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT/2016/007.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
A staff member filed an application before Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT contesting the Administration¡¯s decision to close an investigation into his complaint filed under ST/SGB/2008/5. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT concluded that the decision to close the complaint without further action was improper as the investigation was tainted by serious procedural breaches. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT awarded USD 5,000 as moral damages for the harm to the staff member¡¯s reputation and general well-being.
Legal Principle(s)
Testimonial evidence without corroboration by independent evidence (expert or otherwise) is not satisfactory proof to support an award of moral damages.