UNDT/2018/049, Hosang
The Tribunal finds that the application is receivable.
The Applicant seeks retroactive correction of his grade to the GS-5 level from the date of his appointment on 16 June 1997 to 2000 when the post was classified at that level and he seeks compensation for loss of opportunity and the emotional distress caused by the Respondent’s administrative delay in responding to his claim.
The Dispute Tribunal is competent to review its own competence or jurisdiction. When considering the receivability of an application, the Dispute Tribunal is not limited by the pleadings of the parties or their presentation of the possible receivability issues. The date of an implied decision, and thereby also an omission, is based on objective elements that both parties can accurately determine, i.e., when the staff member actually knew or should reasonably have known about it. A valid defense of res judicata provides that a matter between the same persons, involving the same cause of action, may not be adjudicated twice. Res judicata operates to bar a subsequent proceeding if the issue submitted for decision has already been the subject of a final and binding decision as to the rights and liabilities of the parties on the merits in that same regard. The issue of retroactive classification of an unclassified post is distinct and separate from an entitlement to Special Post Allowance, that involves entirely different considerations and administrative processes. The correct classification of a post is a staff member’s contractual right.