Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT Held or Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT Pronouncements
The applicant joined the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) of the United Nations in September 2005 on a two-year contract as a P-4 level legal officer. Between July 2006 and January 2007 the applicant was admitted to several hospitals to receive alcohol-related treatment and, in January 2007, she was medically evacuated to her home country and subsequently placed on special leave without pay. On 1 August 2007, the applicant was informed that her contract would not be extended beyond its expiration date of 2 September 2007. The applicant filed an appeal contesting the decision not to extend her contract. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT found that only the applicant¡¯s claim with respect to the non-extension was receivable as the claims concerning the medical evacuation and the placement on leave were time-barred. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT found that the decision not to extend her appointment was lawful and that, even if the applicant¡¯s claims with respect to the medical evacuation were receivable, she would not have succeeded on the merits. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT further concluded that the respondent¡¯s calculation of the applicant¡¯s sick leave days, resulting in the placement on special leave, was correct. Outcome: The application was rejected in its entirety.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
The applicant contests the decision not to extend her fixed-term contract.
Legal Principle(s)
Receivability: Section 4.3 of ST/SGB/2009/11 (¡°[d]ecisions made by the Secretary-General between 2 April 2009 and 30 June 2009 on appeals . . . may be challenged before the Tribunal¡±) was intended to serve as a transitional measure to ensure that no appeals filed between 2 April and 30 June 2009 are left unaddressed. It is not a necessary condition for the Tribunal to exercise its jurisdiction. The Tribunal¡¯s review is not limited to the propriety of the decision of the Secretary-General to accept or reject the recommendation of the JAB; it can review the original contested decision. Requests for administrative review and management evaluation: Under the former system of internal justice, as well as under the system in place since 1 July 2009, requests for administrative review and management evaluation are mandatory first steps in the appeal process and cannot be waived. Sick leave: Calculation of sick leave days is based on any period of twelve consecutive months, not on calendar years. Medical fitness for work, health status: In order to determine whether an employee is medically fit an employer needs to make a considerate assessment, in consultation with the employee and the medical practitioner, of what the illness is, the seriousness of the illness and its prognosis. This necessarily implies a certain degree of information sharing.