UN Appeals Tribunal Time Limits - When To File

Appeals and answers before the UN Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) must be filed on time or they may not be considered by UNAT. The time limits for filing appeals and answers are below:

APPEAL AGAINSTTIME LIMIT TO FILE APPEAL/APPLICATIONTIME LIMIT TO FILE ANSWER
UNDT Judgmentwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of judgmentwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal
UNDT Interlocutory Orderwithin 30 calendar days of receipt of orderwithin 30 calendar days of receipt of appeal
UNRWA DT Judgmentwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of judgmentwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal
UNRWA DT Interlocutory Orderwithin 30 calendar days of receipt of orderwithin 30 calendar days of receipt of appeal
Decision of the Standing Committee of the UNJSPBwithin 90 calendar days of receipt of appealwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal
Decision by ICAO Secretary Generalwithin 90 calendar days of receipt of decision by the ICAO Secretary General (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures*)within 60 calendar days of receipt of application
Decision by ICJ Registrarwithin 30 calendar days of receipt of report by the Conciliation Committeewithin 60 calendar days of receipt of application
Decision by IMO Secretary-Generalwithin 90 calendar days of receipt of decision taken by the IMO Secretary-General (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures)within 60 calendar days of receipt of application
Decision by ISA Secretary-Generalwithin 90 calendar days of receipt of decision taken by the ISA Secretary-General (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures)within 60 calendar days of receipt of application
Decision of ITLOS Registrarwithin 90 calendar days of receipt of decision taken by the ITLOS Registrar (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures)within 60 calendar days of receipt of application
Decision by WMO Secretary-Generalwithin 90 calendar days of receipt of decision taken by the WMO Secretary-General (following completion of the entity’s internal first instance procedures)within 60 calendar days of receipt of application
CROSS-APPEAL AGAINSTTIME LIMIT TO FILE CROSS-APPEALTIME LIMIT TO FILE ANSWER TO CROSS-APPEAL
UNDT Judgmentwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal to judgmentwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of cross-appeal
UNRWA DT Judgmentwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of appeal to judgmentwithin 60 calendar days of receipt of cross-appeal

* First instance procedures are the internal mechanisms which each of the (currently) six agencies, entities or organizations which have accepted UNAT jurisdiction use to review contested administrative decisions.

CALCULATION OF TIME LIMITS

Pursuant to Article 29 of the UNAT Rules of Procedure (Rules), time limits:
(a) Refer to calendar days, but do not include the day of the event from which the period runs;
(b) Include the next working day of the Registry when the last day of the period is not a working day;
(c) Are deemed to have been met if the documents in question were dispatched by reasonable means on the last day of the period.

For example, if you receive a UNDT judgment on 7 March 2018 and you want to appeal that judgment, the 60-day time limit will start to run on the day after your receipt of the UNDT judgment, i.e., 8 March, and will end on 6 May. Since 6 May is a Sunday, you may file your appeal on Monday, 7 May 2018.

SUBMISSION BY E-FILING

Documents submitted by e-filing will be filed to the case according to the date and time of receipt by the Registry, as recorded by the e-filing portal. Filings electronically filed by 11:59 pm New York time shall be deemed as filed on that calendar day.

SUBMISSION BY E-MAIL/FAX

Documents submitted by e-mail or fax shall be filed to the case according to the date and time of receipt by the Registry. Filings received by 11:59 pm New York time are deemed as filed on that calendar day.

SUBMISSIONS IN PERSON

The Registry is open on the working days of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, during office hours from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.

SUBMISSIONS BY POSTAL MAIL/INTERNAL POUCH MAIL

Documents filed by physical mail will be filed according to the date of the postal stamp or date the document is dispatched by internal pouch.

SUSPENSION, WAIVER OR EXTENSION OF TIME LIMITS:

Under Article 7(3) of the UNAT Statute and Article 7(2) of the Rules, in exceptional cases, an appellant may submit a written request to UNAT seeking suspension, waiver or extension of the time limits referred to in Article 7(1) of the UNAT Statute and Article 7(1) of the Rules. Pursuant to Article 30 of the Rules, the President or the panel hearing a case may shorten or extend a time limit fixed by the Rules or waive any rule when the interests of justice so require.