Judgment No. 172
Decision
1. The Director-General's decision of 16 January 1970 is quashed.
2. The Organisation shall pay Mr. Flad:
(a) his salary up to 12 October 1969;
(b) compensation amounting to 15,000 French francs.
Considerations
Extract:
No real inquiry was made. The allegations against complainant were improbable. "The Tribunal can only find that the facts leading to the imposition of the sanction are in no way proved and decide that the impugned decision should be quashed. There is no reason to order the complainant's reinstatement, which in any case he does not claim; his entitlement to compensation for the injury suffered by him should, however, be considered.
Keywords
injury; damages; evidence; lack of evidence; inquiry; investigation
Considerations
Extract:
The complainant, who was dismissed without inquiry on the basis of unsupported allegations, is entitled to "a sum in respect of the disturbance of his living conditions and family life which the [Director-General] unlawfully caused him and in respect of the moral injury which he suffered on account of the unjust charges brought against him. Considering that he obtained equivalent employment fairly soon, the injury will be fairly assessed by awarding compensation amounting to 15,000 French francs."
Keywords
injury; moral injury; amount; lack of evidence; inquiry; contract; fixed-term; termination of employment; material damages; investigation
Considerations
Extract:
"Th[e] charge [of attempted theft] was brought by the shop manager [...] eleven days after the incident to which it related. [The complainant] immediately denied the charges and gave a totally different and at first sight not improbable version of the incident. The Personnel Officer of the Regional Office, appointed by the Regional Director to make an inquiry, merely heard the statements of the shop manager who had brought the charges, and of three of his employees, only one of whom had apparently witnessed the alleged attempted theft."
Keywords
damages; evidence; burden of proof; lack of evidence; inquiry; disciplinary procedure; standard of proof; investigation
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