|
           |
Rules
of Procedure and Guidelines TABLE OF CONTENTS I. GENERAL A. Definitions B. Interpretation C. Amendments II. ORGANIZATION A. Presiding Officer and Alternate Presiding Officer B. The JAB Secretariat C. Meetings of the Board III. PROCEDURES A. Request for review B. Conciliation initiated under Staff Rule 111.2(b) C. Settlement initiated after the appeal has been filed D. Filing an appeal [Staff Rule 111.2(a) and (b) E. Incomplete statement of appeal F. Receivability of appeals G. Waiver of time-limits for late filing H. "Suspension of Action" procedure I. Written submissions of the Parties J. The statement of appeal, the "Small Claims" appeal, respondent's reply and observations K. Additional submissions L. Written Interrogatories M. Extension of time-limits for submission of supplementary material N. Consideration of an appeal in the absence of a reply O. Abandonment of an appeal P. Withdrawal of an appeal Q. Settlement of an appeal IV. CONSIDERATION OF THE APPEAL A. Constitution of the Panel and notice to the parties B. Disqualification of a Panel Member C. Meetings of the Panel D. Request for hearing E. Notice of hearing F. Presentation at hearing G. The report of the Panel H. Travel expenses and Visas RULES OF PROCEDURE AND GUIDELINES OF THE JOINT APPEALS BOARD AT HEADQUARTERS I. GENERAL A. Definitions For the purpose of these rules of procedure, unless otherwise indicated: "Appeal" shall mean a complaint which is being pursued under Chapter XI of the Staff Rules, beginning with the request for administrative review and concluding with the decision taken by the Secretary-General on the report of the Joint Appeals Board Panel. "Appellant" shall mean any individual who has initiated a complaint under the provisions of Chapter XI of the Staff Rules. "Board" or "JAB" shall mean the Joint Appeals Board at Headquarters, including all Chairpersons, Members appointed by the Secretary-General and Members elected by the staff. "Calendar" shall mean the chronological list of appeals pending before the Board. "Conciliating Officer" shall mean the member of the Board designated by the Presiding Officer to assist the parties in settling the case. "Conciliation" shall mean the procedure under Staff Rule 111.2(b) aimed at reaching a conciliatory conclusion with the assistance of a Conciliating Officer. "Counsel" shall mean the representative of the appellant. Counsel may be any person who agrees to assist an appellant or prospective appellant in presenting, settling or conciliating an appeal under Chapter XI of the Staff Rules (as amended by ST/SGB/2003/8). "Day" shall mean regular calendar day, unless otherwise indicated. "Executive session" shall mean a meeting of the JAB Panel in camera. "Notice" shall mean written notice unless otherwise stated. If time is not sufficient to assure receipt of written notice sent by messenger, regular mail or pouch, notice may be given by cable or by telephone and confirmed in writing. "Members of the Board" shall include all Chairpersons, Members appointed by the Secretary-General and Members elected by the staff under Staff Rule 111.1. "Members of the Panel" shall mean the three persons on the Panel which is constituted to consider an appeal. "Panel" shall mean the three-person body which is constituted under Staff Rule 111.2(e) to consider an appeal, and shall consist of a Chairperson, a Member appointed by the Secretary-General and a Member elected by the staff. "Parties" shall mean the appellant and respondent. Wherever "parties" is mentioned in these rules, the term "and/or their representatives" is implied also, unless otherwise indicated. "Presiding Officer" shall mean the Chairperson who, inter alia, directs the work of the Board. "Representative" shall mean representative of either of the parties. "Representative of the Secretary-General" shall mean the officer designated by the Secretary-General to represent him in an appeal. "Respondent" shall mean the Secretary-General of the United Nations or his representative as defined above. "Review" shall, unless otherwise indicated, mean administrative review under Staff Rule 111.2(a). "The secretariat" or "the JAB secretariat" (as opposed to "the Secretariat of the United Nations with a capital "S") shall mean the secretariat of the Board. "Secretary of the Panel" shall mean the officer who is serving as Secretary to a Panel constituted to consider an appeal. "Settlement" shall mean a binding resolution of the appeal by the parties. "Small claim" shall mean a claim having a cumulative maximum value not in excess of one thousand and five hundred dollars ($1,500), on account of salary, emoluments or any other entitlement due under the Staff Regulations and Rules. "Small claims panel" shall be a three person panel constituted by the Presiding Officer who serves for a term of one year. "Staff member" shall mean a current or former staff member (holding or having held a contract under the Staff Regulations and Rules). "Staff Rules" or "Rules" shall mean the 100, 200 or 300 series of Staff Rules of the United Nations promulgated by the Secretary-General under the Staff Regulations of the United Nations. "These rules" or "rules" shall mean the rules of procedure of the Board (as differentiated from the "Staff Rules"). "Time-limit" shall mean the deadline for filing of a submission or the taking of an action. For the purpose of these rules the time-limit shall take effect upon the close of business on the date on which the submission is due or the action is to be taken, in accordance with the Staff Rules, these rules of procedure, or with a ruling made by the Presiding Officer or by the Panel. If a time-limit falls on a weekend or on an official holiday, the time-limit shall be deemed to extend to the close of business on the first working day thereafter. B. Interpretation The Board shall, to the extent required, interpret these rules of procedure. C. Amendments These rules of procedure may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board members voting at any time, at a properly constituted special meeting of the Board, attended by a quorum (fifty per cent plus one) of the Board membership. II. ORGANIZATION A. Presiding Officer and Alternate Presiding Officer 1. (a) There shall be a Presiding Officer of the JAB and an Alternate Presiding Officer, who shall deputize for the Presiding Officer whenever he/she is unavailable. (b) The Presiding Officer and the Alternate Presiding Officer of the Board shall be elected by the Panel of Chairpersons from among themselves. A Chairperson shall be eligible to be elected as the Presiding Officer or the Alternate Presiding Officer if he or she has served as a JAB member for a minimum of three years. The term of Office for the Presiding Officer and the Alternate Presiding Officer shall be initially for one year with a possibility of re-election. No person shall serve consecutively for more than three years. 2. During his/her term, the Presiding Officer directs the work and operation of the Board. The Presiding Officer, inter alia, shall:
3. If the Presiding Officer deems it
necessary, he or she may call a meeting of Chairpersons, to consider
issues properly before them or matters drawn to their particular attention.
B. The JAB Secretariat The secretariat of the Board, established under Staff Regulation 11.1 and Staff Rule 111.1(g), supports the functioning of the JAB in an independent and confidential manner. In this connection, the secretariat assists and advises the Presiding Officer in the performance of his/her functions, and provides support to JAB Panels in their consideration of appeals against administrative decisions. The secretariat, inter alia, advises on substantive legal issues, including relevant precedent, and on technical and procedural matters pertaining to individual cases. C. Meetings of the Board 1. The Presiding Officer shall convene an annual plenary session, normally during the month of February, upon ten working days' written Notice to the members for the purpose of considering general matters affecting the administration or operation of the Board. 2. An ad hoc plenary session may be convened by the Presiding Officer when, in his/her opinion, it is necessary to deal with a question affecting the administration or operation of the Board. An ad hoc plenary session may also be called by petition of at least 25% of the serving members of the Board. A written Notice of the convening of an ad hoc plenary session shall be given to the Members of the Board five working days in advance of the date of the opening of such a session. 3. Special meetings, under para. I.C. of these rules, shall be called upon ten working days' notice to the members. 4. Decisions, other than amendments to these rules (see paragraph I.C, above), shall be taken by a majority vote of those Board Members present and voting at any meeting at which there is a quorum (fifty percent plus one of the membership of the Board at that time). III. PROCEDURES A. Request for review As the first step in the appeals procedure, a written request for review of the contested administrative decision must be submitted to the Secretary-General within two months of receiving notification of the decision (Staff Rule 111.2(a)). An appeal may not be filed prior to the request for administrative review. B. Conciliation initiated under Staff Rule 111.2(b) When a staff member, the Secretary-General or the Presiding Officer decides to invoke staff rule 111.2(b) and seeks the assistance of a Chairperson or Member of the Joint Appeals Board designated by the Presiding Officer with a view to reaching a conciliatory conclusion on the matter, the time-limit in filing an appeal shall be suspended pending the conclusion of the conciliatory effort. The conciliation proceedings should be normally completed within two months but may be extended by the Presiding Officer if there are grounds to believe that conciliation may be achieved by a reasonable extension beyond the two-month period. If the parties are satisfied with the conclusion and the Secretary-General accepts the result, the matter shall not be entertained by the Joint Appeals Board. Otherwise the time-limits for submitting an application to the Joint Appeals Board shall be the same as stipulated in Staff Rule 111.2(a)(i) and (ii). If conciliation fails, the time-limit set forth in the Staff Rule 111.2(a)(ii) starts running. C. Settlement initiated after the appeal has been filed After the filing of an appeal with the Joint Appeals Board, if an amicable resolution of the matter is being pursued, time-limits for submission of material may be extended. D. Filing an appeal and a "Small Claim" appeal 1. A full statement of appeal, in accordance with rule III.J.1, below, shall be submitted to the Board, through its secretariat, within the applicable time-limits (see Staff Rule 111.2(a)(i)). 2. Filing of a "small claim" appeal in accordance with rule III.J.3 shall be submitted when the appeal involves a claim having a cumulative maximum value not in excess of one thousand and five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) (See Staff Rule 111.2(o)). E. Incomplete statement of appeal An incomplete statement of appeal will be accepted by the Board for the purpose of establishing the date of filing of the appeal. The secretariat of the Board will, upon receipt of an incomplete statement, request in writing that the appellant provide to the Board, within one month, a full statement of appeal, containing all of the elements described in rule III.J.1, below. If the appellant, without explanation, fails to submit a full statement of appeal within the month, the appeal shall be deemed to have been abandoned (see rule III.O.3, below), and shall be removed from the calendar. F. Receivability of appeals An appeal is receivable only if it complies with the time-limits set forth in Staff Rule 111.2(a) and (b), or if the Panel considering the appeal decides to waive the time-limits (see G. Below). G. Waiver of time-limits for late filing 1. When appeal is challenged solely on the ground that it is not receivable, a panel shall be constituted to consider the receivability challenge. If it determines that the appeal is receivable, the Panel shall remand the case to the party raising the receivability issue, with reasons, and direct that party to submit a reply on substance. When an appeal is challenged on procedure and substance, the Panel constituted to consider the appeal shall decide, at its own discretion, whether to consider receivability as a preliminary issue or in conjunction with the whole appeal. In either situation the Panel may request statements, supporting evidence and comments relating specifically to this issue and shall decide, on the basis thereof, if "exceptional circumstances" justify a waiver of the time-limits under Staff Rule 111.2(f), bearing in mind that the onus of proving exceptional circumstances lies with the appellant. 2. Conciliation proceedings initiated during the review stage but not completed within the time-limit specified for review, shall constitute a valid ground for the Board's waiver of time-limits for the filing of an appeal. 3. Similarly, the institution of proceedings, prior to the appeal, before the Ombudsman's Office and the Panels on Discrimination and Other Grievances or before the corresponding machinery in UNICEF and UNDP shall normally constitute valid grounds for the Board's waiver of time-limits for the filing of a request for review or of an appeal. H. "Suspension of Action" procedure 1. Upon a request of the appellant, the Panel may, under Staff Rule 111.2(c), recommend to the Secretary-General the suspension of the administrative decision that is the subject of the appeal. 2. The Panel shall normally be constituted for the purpose of considering the request within one week of the receipt of the request. No additional written submissions are required; the parties may make oral statements. The Panel will limit its considerations to the issue of suspension. The case should not be considered on its merits at this summary hearing in accordance with Staff Rule 111.2 (c). The Panel will submit its report and recommendations to the Secretary-General, whenever possible within three working days of the completion of its consideration. The findings of the Panel on a request for suspension shall not prejudice a later determination on the merits. I. Written Submissions by the Parties 1. Each written submission and document shall be presented to the Board or Panel through its secretariat. All such material which is presented to the Board or Panel, either prior to or during the consideration of the case, shall be submitted as an original (where available) with six copies. Each copy shall be a true and complete copy of the original. The original and the required copies shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Panel for distribution to the other party, his/her representative, and to Panel members. When the original of a document is not available, the Panel may require that certified true copies be submitted. A Panel may require that any document be produced by the party in possession. 2. Submissions to the Board or Panel will normally be in English or French, the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. The Presiding Officer or Panel may, in the interest of justice, authorize an appellant to make submissions in any other working language of the General Assembly where the circumstances so warrant. Any document submitted in connection with an appeal, not drawn up in one of the working languages of the United Nations, shall be accompanied by a certified translation into English or French. 3. A copy of each written submission and document furnished to the Board or Panel in connection with an appeal will generally be communicated by the JAB secretariat, upon receipt, to the other party. If a party or witness refuses to produce a document on the grounds of confidentiality, the Panel may demand its production for the limited purpose of determining whether its relevance overrides its confidentiality, without first transmitting a copy to the other party. Should it be so determined, a copy of such document, or only the relevant parts thereof, may be transmitted to the other party. 4. When defects in the written submissions do not affect the substance of the appeal, i.e., erroneous dates or typographical errors, the JAB secretariat, with notification to the submitting party, may make the necessary corrections. J. The Statement of Appeal, the "Small Claims" appeal, the respondent's reply and observations 1. Statement of Appeal: In order to submit a statement of appeal the Appellant will complete the Form of Appeal, which appears in appendix A of these rules. The Statement of Appeal shall include:
Failure by the appellant to comply with this rule may lead to the statement of appeal being treated as incomplete (see rule III.E, above). 2. A Statement of Appeal shall normally not exceed ten one-sided double-space pages. In case of a longer submission, a two-page synopsis of the full Statement of Appeal shall be provided.
3. The procedure for submitting a Small Claim shall be as follows:
4. The respondent's reply: Staff Rule 111.2(g) provides that the representative of the Secretary-General shall submit a written reply within two months after the receipt of the appeal. Failure to submit in accordance with the time-limit specified may be dealt with as provided in rule III.N, below. 5. The respondent's reply shall be transmitted to the appellant and/or counsel inviting written observations, if any, to be submitted within one month in respect of a staff member stationed in New York, or if elsewhere, within two months. K. Additional submissions 1. In addition to the statement of appeal and the respondent's reply thereto, the proceedings before a Panel shall normally be limited under Staff Rule 111.2(h) to "brief statements and rebuttals" which may be made either orally or in writing. The Panel may accept additional written or oral submissions from the parties. The Panel may also request the production of additional material or oral statements. The time-limit for written submissions by either party shall generally be no more than two weeks in respect of appellants stationed in New York or one month for appellants elsewhere. 2. Additional written submissions shall be limited so as to avoid repetition of previously presented information and shall be made in accordance with stipulated time-limits. 3. Additional written submissions and documents shall also conform to rules III.I.1, III.I.2, above. L. Written Interrogatories The Panel may request any necessary information from any party, witness or expert by written interrogatory. (1) The Panel shall have the discretion to decide whether it will seek such material through its secretary or whether it will request that it be obtained by one of the parties within a stated time-limit. Copies of the questions and answers constituting the written interrogatory and reply thereto shall be provided to the parties, each of whom will have the opportunity to comment thereon. M. Extension of time-limits for submission of supplementary material 1. Time limits for submission of supplementary material may be extended by the Panel upon a written request for an extension before the time-limit has expired, indicating the reason for the delay and the time required for the completion of the submission. Notice of such request shall be given to the other party. 2. Further extensions of time-limits for submission of additional written material may be granted where the interest of justice so warrants. 3. Only in exceptional circumstances will the consideration of a case be delayed for an extended period of time for the purpose of receiving written submissions. Such an extension will be granted only upon a showing that:
N. Consideration of an appeal in the absence of a reply The failure of the respondent to submit a reply within the time-limit will not delay the consideration of an appeal. If the Representative of the Secretary-General requests an extension of the time-limit for reasons stated, the Presiding Officer, upon notice to the appellant, may grant the request and set a new deadline. In the absence of such request, or at the expiration of any extension, a Panel shall be constituted to consider the appeal. During the course of its consideration of the appeal, the Panel shall determine how to obtain from the respondent any material or information it may require. O. Abandonment of an appeal 1. It is the obligation of an appellant who intends to pursue his/her appeal to keep the Board informed of any change of address or telephone number.
2. If the Board makes two successive attempts to communicate with the appellant at the last known address and receives no response within a reasonable period of time, or if a communication is returned marked "addressee unknown," the Presiding Officer may deem the appeal to have been abandoned. 3. Where an appellant has submitted an incomplete appeal but has failed to submit a full statement of appeal within the specified time-limit without explanation, the appeal may be deemed to have been abandoned upon the expiry of the time limit. 4. An abandoned appeal may be restored upon adequate explanation. If the appeal was deemed abandoned for failure by the appellant to submit a full statement of appeal, any such motion to restore a case must be accompanied by the full statement of appeal. P. Withdrawal of an appeal An appellant may withdraw his/her appeal at any time prior to being notified that the Panel has submitted its report to the Secretary-General. Withdrawal of an appeal must be in writing, and signed by the appellant or counsel. Q. Settlement of an appeal 1. An appeal may be settled at any stage in the proceedings prior to notification to the appellant that the Panel has submitted its report to the Secretary-General. Once the Panel has begun its consideration of the case, the parties may be granted, if they so request, an adjournment of the proceedings for the purpose of conducting settlement negotiations. If settlement has not been reached during that period, consideration will be resumed. 2. If a settlement is reached, the appellant or counsel shall submit a written statement to the Board or Panel that the parties have reached a settlement and are withdrawing the appeal. 3. As settlement efforts are deemed to be without prejudice, such efforts or the terms considered prior to the hearing, are inadmissible as evidence and may not be referred to in the course of the Panel's consideration of the appeal. IV. CONSIDERATION OF THE APPEAL A. Constitution of the Panel and notice to the parties As soon as Panel is constituted under Staff Rule 111.2(e), the composition of the Panel shall be notified to the parties in writing. As far as possible, the membership of the Panel shall be maintained to the conclusion of the appeal. B. Disqualification of a Panel Member 1. A request by either party under Staff Rule 111.2(e)(iii) for disqualification of a member of the Panel shall be made in writing within five working days of receipt of notice of the composition of the Panel, and shall state the reason for requesting such disqualification. If, however, either party becomes aware for the first time of information which it considers grounds for disqualification of a Panel member, after the five days have passed, it may then present such a request. The decision on such requests shall be made by the Presiding Officer. 2. Notwithstanding 1 above, a member of the Board shall be disqualified from serving on a Panel if he/she has a pending appeal before the JAB. He/she will again be eligible to participate on a Panel after conclusion of the appeal by issuance of the Secretary-General's decision or any other means. 3. A member of the Board shall not serve as Counsel in cases before the JAB. C. Meetings of the Panel The Panel may meet either in Executive Sessions or hold hearings. At all meetings, the entire Panel and the Secretary must be present.
D. Request for hearing 1. Either party may request a hearing. Such request must be in writing, and shall be submitted, at the latest, upon receipt of notice of the composition of the Panel. The Panel shall decide whether or not to grant such request. It may also decide, on its own initiative, that a hearing is necessary. 2. In determining whether a hearing is required, the Panel will consider whether the written submissions have adequately covered the issues involved, whether the testimony of the parties, witnesses or experts would substantially add to the material being considered and whether relevant and necessary additional information could be adduced in the course of a hearing. E. Notice of hearing If a hearing is scheduled, notice of the date, time and place will be sent to the parties by the Secretary of the Panel. For continuation of a hearing, oral notice may be given followed by written confirmation. F. Presentation at hearing 1. At a hearing (either on a preliminary issue or on the merits of the appeal), both parties must be invited to attend and participate. 2. At the hearing, in order to avoid repetition of material contained in the written submissions, except for an opening or closing presentation normally limited to ten minutes, the parties shall be limited to the presentation of new material or the response to new material submitted by the other party, or to questions from the Panel. The Panel may determine relevance of new material and limit oral presentation accordingly. 3.A hearing may include presentations by the parties, and testimony by witnesses or experts (see rule IV.F.4 below). The Panel may call witnesses and experts on its own initiative. The Panel may also permit either of the parties to call witnesses and experts upon a showing that their testimony would be relevant. 4. The normal sequence of the hearing is as follows:
The order of the presentations may be altered to accommodate special situations or requests, i.e., the appearance of witnesses or experts who are available during a limited period only. The Chairperson shall be responsible for the conduct of the proceedings, including conveying the rulings of the Panel. G. The report of the Panel 1. In accordance with Staff Rule 111.2(n), the Panel's report and recommendation shall be submitted to the Secretary-General. The Secretary of the Panel will notify the appellant of the date on which the Panel's report was submitted to the Secretary-General. Any request in accordance with Staff Rule 111.2(q) for a copy of the Panel's report must be made in writing. 2. The report of the Panel constitutes the official record of the proceedings. It may be agreed to unanimously or by a majority of the Panel. In the latter case, the Panel member who disagrees with the majority position may prepare a dissenting opinion to be appended to the majority report. 3. Since, under Article 7.3 of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (UNAT), the designation of a case as "frivolous" (e.g., totally devoid of merit) has serious implications, such designation can be applied only by unanimous decision of the Panel considering the case. Once declared frivolous, a case cannot then be the subject of an application to UNAT. The unanimous designation of a case as frivolous renders it not receivable by UNAT, under Article 7.3 of the Statute of UNAT. H. Travel expenses and Visas The Board has no provision for expenses related to appeals, travel or issuance of visas. ------------- Adopted on 12 May 2004 by the Joint Appeals Board at its Special Session in accordance with Staff Rule 111.1(e). 1. 1 Oral testimony and participation at a hearing discussed in rule IV.F.1-IV.F.4, below.
|
|||||