Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ

2020-Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT-1077

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT Held or Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT Pronouncements

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT had not failed to properly exercise its jurisdiction by refusing to convene a second case management discussion. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that, regarding the question of whether Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT failed to address the Appellant¡¯s factual arguments challenging the legality of the abolition of her post, the appeal was without merit; the Appellant only reargued her case and did not establish that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT erred in fact or in law about this issue. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held, however, that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT erred in deciding that the Appellant had failed to rebut the presumption that the selection of Mr. D R-B, given that the selected candidate was a similarly situated colleague, with less seniority and experience, was regular and dismissed her claim that the termination was unlawful. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that the reassignment of Mr. D R-B was not compliant with the gender policy and that the Administration did not demonstrate that all reasonable efforts had been made to consider the Appellant for available suitable posts. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that the previous medical reports established the stress, harm, and anxiety that the Appellant had suffered, which could reasonably be attributed to the conditions of termination, the gender policy violation, and the due process rights breaches. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT granted the appeal in part. The decision to terminate the Appellant¡¯s fixed-term appointment was rescinded, and the Secretary-General was ordered to reinstate the Appellant on similar terms and conditions of employment or, alternatively, to pay compensation in lieu. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT granted the Appellant compensation for moral damages.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

The Applicant contested the decision to terminate her fixed-term appointment with the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT found that the Secretary-General met the minimal standard of proof that the abolition of the Applicant¡¯s post and her non-placement on another suitable post had been done in accordance with the Regulations and Rules. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT concluded that the Applicant had failed to discharge her legal duty to prove with clear and convincing evidence that the abolition of her post and non-placement on a suitable position were marred by irregularities entitling her to a remedy. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT dismissed the application in its entirety.

Legal Principle(s)

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT has broad discretion with respect to case management. As the court of the first instance, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT is in the best position to decide what is appropriate for the fair and expeditious disposal of a case and do justice to the parties. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT will not interfere lightly with the broad discretion of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT in the management of cases. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT emphasizes that the appeals procedure is of a corrective nature and, thus, is not an opportunity for a dissatisfied party to reargue his or her case.

Outcome

Appeal granted

OAJ prepared this case law summary for informational purposes only. It is no official record and should not be relied upon as an authoritative interpretation of the Tribunals' rulings. For the authoritative texts, please refer to the judgment or order rendered by the respective Tribunal. The Tribunals are the only bodies competent to interpret their respective judgments, as provided under Article 12(3) of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT Statute and Article 11(3) of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT Statute. Any inaccuracies in the publication are the sole responsibility of OAJ, which should be contacted directly for any correction requests. To provide comments, don't hesitate to get in touch with OAJ at oaj@un.org.

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