Standard of review (judicial)

The UNAT noted that the health insurance premiums imposed by the UPU in 2023 differed according to factors such as age, retirement status and country of residence.

The UNAT held that there was no support for the appellants' contention regarding the principle of solidarity used in the Swiss social security law, as for several years such principle had no longer been applied by the UPU.

The UNAT determined that the rate of the UPU’s contribution did not differ between the various age groups and there was no evidence that the premium increases were inconsistent with the costs the insurance...

The UNAT noted that the Agency’s job classification tool had been used to reclassify the staff members’ posts. The UNAT found that the UNRWA DT had not erred when it had decided the case in the absence of the full document of the International Civil Service Commission’s “Master Standard for Classification”. The UNAT agreed with the Commissioner-General that the Classification Reports were relevant and sufficient for the UNRWA DT’s determinations.

The UNAT held that notwithstanding the various anomalies in the reclassification process, the staff members had failed to show anything specific that...

The UNAT noted that the staff member had applied for vacancies of different posts, at different times, with different selection processes, and had not been selected for different reasons. The UNAT found that the UNDT had correctly decided that each of these decisions was separate and there was no evidence that they were related. The UNAT held that she had not met her burden of showing that the impugned Judgment was defective.

The UNAT held that the application in respect of the post in Pretoria was clearly out of time and in respect of the post in Nairobi premature and, as such, not receivable...

The UNAT held that the UNDT had not failed to exercise jurisdiction nor committed an error in procedure. The UNAT found that the UNDT had not exceeded its broad discretion in overruling the objections of the staff member’s counsel when it permitted additional questions by the Secretary-General’s counsel and, in any event, the UNDT’s ruling had no material or prejudicial impact on the outcome of the case.

The UNAT found that the UNDT had not erred in finding that the picture the staff member had sent to the complainant had been of an explicit sexual and even pornographic character. The UNAT...

The UNAT found that beyond reporting the possible prohibited conduct concerning non-compliance with the United Nations financial rules and regulations to the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the staff member had no further interest in law in the conduct of the investigation or its outcome. The UNAT further agreed with the UNDT that there was no basis for his assertion that OIOS had declined to conduct an investigation into his report. The UNAT concluded that the UNDT had not erred in finding the application concerning this decision not receivable.

Regarding the staff member’s complaint...

The UNAT noted that the interview panel had nominated the staff member as one of the recommended candidates for appointment to the post but the Recruitment Report had been erroneously silent as to whether she had been considered on an equivalency basis. The UNAT observed that the advisory committee had subsequently found that her experience did not qualify her for equivalency and that she had not met the educational qualifications.

The UNAT held that because the staff member had been wrongly shortlisted, her participation in the remainder of the recruitment process had been unlawful and any...

The UNAT noted that the vacancy had been advertised for only ten days which violated the mandatory requirement of the UNRWA Personnel Directive, and this violation had been corrected by cancelling the recruitment process and constituting another one that met the requirement of the minimum posting period.

The UNAT held that the staff member had not identified the alleged defects of the impugned Judgment but rather had reargued his case and, therefore, had not discharged his burden of satisfying the Appeals Tribunal that the impugned Judgment had been in error.

The UNAT was of the view that, in...

The UNAT noted that the staff member’s transfer request had been approved by the West Bank Field Office but the Jordan Field Office had subsequently informed that the request could not be accommodated due to a commitment to the roadmap on hiring daily-paid workers in fixed-term posts.

The UNAT held that the Commissioner-General had demonstrated the efforts made by both Field Offices to process the transfer request and the Agency’s burden to show that the request had been given full and fair consideration was satisfied. The UNAT found that the staff member had not discharged the burden of...

The Tribunal decided to dismiss the application.

In the light of the facts established and the finding of misconduct, the three allegations mentioned in the sanctioning letter, relating to ‘sexual molestation’, constitute ‘serious misconduct’ under the terms of paragraph (b) of Staff Regulation 10.1. In addition, under paragraph (a) of Rule 10.2 of the Staff Rules, on the basis of which the sanction was imposed, dismissal is a possibility.

Dismissal is one of the most severe sanctions that can be imposed in an administrative or employment matter. However, a more lenient sanction would leave open...

The Tribunal found that the Respondent was not able to demonstrate that the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based were established by clear and convincing evidence, as otherwise required by the Appeals Tribunal in its jurisprudence.

Having found that the facts on which the disciplinary measure was based had not been established by clear and convincing evidence, the Tribunal also found that there was no established misconduct by the Applicant.

Given the finding of absence of misconduct by the Applicant, the Tribunal also rescinded the sanction imposed on him.