Judgment No. 2831
Decision
1. The decision of 18 October 2007 that the complainant's internal appeal was irreceivable is set aside.
2. WIPO shall pay the complainant 5,000 Swiss francs in compensation for the injury which he has suffered.
3. It shall also pay him costs in the amount of 3,000 francs.
4. All other claims are dismissed.
Considerations 3-4
Extract:
The internal appeal, which the complainant lodged on 27 August 2007 against a decision dated 23 May 2007, was rejected on 18 October 2007 on the grounds that it was time barred. The complainant asks the Tribunal to set aside the decision of 18 October 2007.
"In reality the internal appeal was filed within the three-month period laid down by the Staff Regulations. The complainant received the decision of 23 May 2007 on 24 May 2007. The period for lodging an appeal began to run on the next day, i.e. 25 May 2007. It expired on 25 August 2007 which, being a Saturday, was not a working day at WIPO. The time limit for submitting an appeal was therefore extended until the next working day, in other words Monday, 27 August 2007, the date on which the internal appeal was filed.
It follows that the decision of 18 October 2007 that the internal appeal lodged by the complainant was irreceivable must be set aside.
Since the complainant succeeds, he shall be awarded 5,000 Swiss francs in compensation for the injury which he has suffered [...]."
Keywords
receivability of the complaint; internal appeal; time limit; start of time limit; time bar; late appeal; saturday
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