2018-Ģ��ƵAT-841

Ģ��ƵAT Held or Ģ��ƵDT Pronouncements

Ģ��ƵAT considered the Secretary-General's appeal and the staff members�� cross-appeal. Ģ��ƵAT first considered the receivability of the appeal and held that the applications were receivable because the contested decision would have an adverse impact on the staff members. With respect to the merits of the appeal, Ģ��ƵAT noted that the salary entitlements of staff members are statutory in nature and may be unilaterally amended by the General Assembly. Ģ��ƵAT further noted that an individual loss caused by a unilateral variation of a validly concluded contract poses no legal obstacle to the exercise of regulatory power. With respect to the cross-appeal, Ģ��ƵAT held that Ģ��ƵDT did not err in finding that it lacked jurisdiction to examine whether the decision of the General Assembly to provide for the transitional allowance was illegal, discriminatory, and in violation of Article 8 of the Charter of the United Nations. Ģ��ƵAT noted that only appeals in relation to administrative decisions are receivable by Ģ��ƵDT. Ģ��ƵAT accordingly upheld the Secretary-General's appeal, vacated Ģ��ƵDT��s judgment, and dismissed the cross-appeal.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

The staff members contested the decision to reduce their contracted salaries and the manner of the implementation of the Unified Salary Scale. Ģ��ƵDT found that the unilateral reduction violated the staff members�� acquired rights to receive the gross and net salaries set out in their letters of appointment. Ģ��ƵDT rescinded the contested decision.

Legal Principle(s)

A decision must have direct adverse consequences in order to be an appealable administrative decision within the meaning of Article 2(1) of the Ģ��ƵDT Statute. Staff members do not have a right, acquired or otherwise, to the continued application of the Staff Regulations and Rules concerning the system of computation of their salaries in force at the time they accepted employment for the entirety of their service. Ģ��ƵDT may only receive appeals in relation to administrative decisions.

Outcome

Appeal granted

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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

Quijano-Evans et al.

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Date of Judgement