51³Ô¹Ï

2015-UNAT-507

2015-UNAT-507, Porter

UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. UNAT recalled the importance of its jurisprudence on the receivability of appeals against interlocutory orders in that the excess of jurisdiction or competence must be clear or manifest. UNAT held that it was not satisfied that such a threshold had been met by the Secretary-General, given the circumstances of the case. UNAT held that adjudication of the matters complained of by the Secretary-General, notwithstanding that they touched upon the competence of UNDT, was more proper for consideration once a final judgment has been rendered by UNDT, if the Secretary-General chose to appeal, as the matters in issue were interconnected with the merits of the case. UNAT held that the Secretary-General’s appeal was not receivable and dismissed it.

Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed

The Applicant contested the decision to keep him on medical leave for more than two years after his doctors had recommended that he was fit to return to work; the inaction and/or refusal to take him back into service for over two years; and the failure by the Administration to reimburse financial claims that accrued to him as a result of the forced medical leave. Limiting itself to the question of receivability, UNDT found the application was receivable in substance and time.

Legal Principle(s)

In general, only final judgments of UNDT are appealable. An interlocutory appeal is receivable where UNDT has clearly exceeded its jurisdiction or competence.

Outcome
Appeal dismissed on receivability

OAJ prepared this case law summary for informational purposes only. It is no official record and should not be relied upon as an authoritative interpretation of the Tribunals' rulings. For the authoritative texts, please refer to the judgment or order rendered by the respective Tribunal. The Tribunals are the only bodies competent to interpret their respective judgments, as provided under Article 12(3) of the UNDT Statute and Article 11(3) of the UNAT Statute. Any inaccuracies in the publication are the sole responsibility of OAJ, which should be contacted directly for any correction requests. To provide comments, don't hesitate to get in touch with OAJ at oaj@un.org.

The judgment summaries were generally prepared in English. They were translated into French and are being reviewed for accuracy of the translation.

Applicants/Appellants
Porter
Entity
Case Number(s)
Tribunal
Registry
Date of Judgement
Judge(s)
Language of Judgment
Issuance Type