2023-Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT-1315, Afm Badrul Alam
The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that the award for compensation in lieu of rescission included the additional cost incurred by the staff member in maintaining two households as a result of the contested decision.
The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT found that, given the application for interpretation, it was reasonable for the Administration to await the Appeals Tribunal¡¯s interpretation. However, the Secretary-General is ordered to fully execute the original Judgment and pay to the staff member USD 450 within 30 calendar days from the issuance of the current judgment.
The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT noted that, given the delay in execution and in the...
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT/2023/022, Haydar
- Appealed
The Tribunal's findings were as follows:
The impugned decision related to the use of the performance appraisal to penalize the Applicant.
It had jurisdiction to review an impugned decision which meets the requirements under art. 2.1(a) of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT Statute.
The performance appraisal was conducted and completed with a "successfully meets expectations" rating by the Applicant¡¯s FRO and endorsed by her SRO. This was a unilateral decision made in a precise individual case. This decision was final and binding in accordance with sections 15.1 and 15.7 of ST/AI/2010/5 which precluded the Applicant...
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT/2023/021, Jackson
- Appealed
The Tribunal held that tax reimbursement is governed by a specific and unique legal regime carefully deliberated upon by the General Assembly. Staff regulation 3.3(f) cannot be read into ¡°other payments¡± in staff rule 3.17(ii).
The Tribunal agreed with the Applicant¡¯s understanding that payments under staff rule 3.17(ii) relate to all staff and all nationalities of the United Nations and are not restricted only to USA citizens as in the case for reimbursement of income tax under staff regulation 3.3(f). Hence, the two cannot be read together or have same application.
The Tribunal also agreed...
2023-Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT-1313, John O¡¯Brien
The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that the OAI recommendation in its investigation report that disciplinary action should be taken against the staff member did not constitute an administrative decision. Moreover, the recommendation of OAI was not a ¡°decision¡±. It was an intermediate recommendation and thus did not have a direct, legal or adverse effect. The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT found that, likewise, the decision that there was insufficient evidence to charge the staff member with misconduct did not constitute an administrative decision because it did not have an adverse impact on his rights under the contract of employment. The...
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT/2023/020, Applicant
The Tribunal decided on its own initiative and in accordance with art. 9 of its Rules of Procedure, to adjudicate the present application by way of summary judgement.
The Tribunal noted that in accordance with art. 8.4 of the Tribunal¡¯s Statute and art. 7.6 of its Rules of Procedure, an application shall not be receivable if it is filed more than three years after the applicant¡¯s receipt of the contested administrative decision. The Applicant filed her application on 5 March 2023 indicating that the contested decision was made in October 1995, that is, more than 27 years earlier. Consequently...
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT/2023/019, Humackic
The principal claim against administrative inaction has become moot following the reassignments of both the Applicant and her supervisor. The reassignment decision created an essentially different factual and legal outcome of the Applicant¡¯s complaint under ST/SGB/2019/8.
2023-Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT-1312, RoseMarie Heftberger
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that the Appellant¡¯s consent to foregoing an in-person hearing was not required, pursuant to Rule 22 of the ICAO Appeals Board Rules and ICAO Staff Rule 111.1(18). The Appellant was advised by the ICAO Appeals Board of its intention to proceed with a summary decision and she participated in this process by making submissions without objecting to it. Therefore, it was not an error of law for the Appeals Board of ICAO to have considered and decided the summary judgment without an in-person hearing but otherwise in compliance with due process requirements of participation therein by...
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT/2023/018, Berthaud
Considering that the Applicant opted for payment of the repatriation grant at the dependency rate, two options were open to her husband:
a.To claim a repatriation grant at the single rate for the period of service subsequent to the Applicant¡¯s separation up to the date of his separation from service; or
b.If eligible to a dependency rate, to claim that rate for the whole period of qualifying service, minus the amount of the grant paid to the Applicant.
The evidence on record shows that the Applicant¡¯s husband served three years after the Applicant¡¯s separation. For these three years of non...
2023-Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT-1311, Balint Szvetko
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that some of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT¡¯s findings were speculative, disregarded the evidence and misapplied the applicable legal framework. In particular, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµAT held that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT erred in finding that the staff member¡¯s conduct was not serious because it endured for a limited duration of time. He not only sexually harassed two women but sexually harassed those two women twice in quick succession. His cumulative behaviour exhibited a disposition, which in this instance caused the complainants significant discomfort and anxiety and impacted on their ongoing professional relationship with him.
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµA...
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµDT/2023/017, Jerome Pascal
In determining the lawfulness of the contested decision, the Tribunal examined the following issues:
a) Whether the Applicant's performance was evaluated in a fair and objective manner.
The Tribunal noted that the contested decision was based on the Applicant¡¯s records for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 performance cycles.
The Tribunal reviewed the evidence on record and noted that during the 2019-2020 performance cycle, the Applicant was advised on multiple occasions to improve his work ethic and productivity. At the end of the 2019-2020 performance cycle, the Applicant was assessed as...