550 (2024), Kamal Karki
UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements
The UNAT held that the staff member did not seek an interim measure for temporary relief which was consistent with the UNDT Judgment; on the contrary, he sought the opposite, i.e., anonymization which the Dispute Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal had not granted him. The UNAT also found that the prior UNAT Judgment was res judicata as to the question of anonymity and could be reversed, if at all, only through a revision of judgment. The UNAT denied the staff member’s motion for interim measures.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
The UNAT issued Judgment No. 2023-UNAT-1406 in which it found that the staff member’s application was not receivable ratione temporis and dismissed the request for anonymity as the appeal was purely procedural and jurisdictional and did not involve any personal data which had to be protected. The staff member filed an application for revision of the UNAT Judgment and a motion for interim measures requesting the UNAT to anonymize or remove his name until the issuance of the Judgment on his application for revision.
Legal Principle(s)
An interim measure of relief is subject to very strict requirements; such relief is available to protect a litigant from the likelihood of irreparable harm, who the Dispute Tribunal believes is likely to succeed at trial or the Appeals Tribunal believes is likely to succeed on appeal. Requests for interim measures are only available at the appeals proceedings stage, i.e., before the UNAT has delivered its judgment.