Judgment 1354
77th Session, 1994
European Organization for Nuclear Research
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 8
Extract:
The complainant objects to the career path on which CERN assigned him when it brought in a new system of advancement. He says CERN relied on his grade - 8 -, whereas it did not give a true indication of the quality of his work. "The plea is irreceivable since it amounts to challenging his promotion to grade 8, a decision he has never demurred at in an internal appeal and which has therefore become final."
Keywords:
assignment; career; decision; grade; internal appeal; promotion; receivability of the complaint; work appraisal;
Consideration 9
Extract:
The complainant is challenging CERN's assignment of him on a career path in keeping with a new advancement scheme. He says the procedure should have been adversarial. The plea fails. "There is no question of any breach of his right to due process." Even discounting his discussions about CERN's provisional determination of his career path, both his internal appeal and the present proceedings "have afforded him ample opportunity to plead his case".
Keywords:
adversarial proceedings; assignment; complaint; due process; internal appeal; right to reply;
Judgment 1221
74th Session, 1993
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
The complainant seeks the redefinition of her duties and, subsidiarily, transfer or secondment. "The administration never forced the complainant to perform duties other than those in the description of her post. It is bound neither to amend the duties of staff to suit their own wishes nor [...] to grant their applications for transfer, provided that its decisions are not prompted by considerations irrelevant to its own interests."
Keywords:
amendment to the rules; assignment; discretion; organisation's duties; organisation's interest; post; post description; request by a party; request for transfer; secondment;
Judgment 1213
74th Session, 1993
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
The complainant is claiming assignment to a specific post. The meaning of Article VIII of the Tribunal's Statute, "as the case law has construed it, is that the Tribunal may not order an organisation to put a staff member on any particular post. All it may do is set aside an unlawful decision putting someone on a post or refusing to do so or order specific performance where the organisation has failed to discharge an obligation. In this case [...] the complainant's claim [...] fails because it is irreceivable."
Reference(s)
ILOAT reference: ARTICLE VIII OF THE STATUTE
Keywords:
assignment; case law; claim; competence of tribunal; iloat statute; interpretation; organisation's duties; post; receivability of the complaint;
Consideration 6
Extract:
The complainant submits that the decision to offer him an assignment to a lower grade than he wished and without the benefit of an indefinite appointment discriminated against him insofar as four officials appointed to the same post got the higher grade. "But none of the four is in like case. Either they have served longer than he or have different qualifications or have won a competition or have a much better record of performance. He adduces no evidence to show unlawful discrimination, and his plea is dismissed because it is devoid of merit."
Keywords:
assignment; decision; definition; duration of appointment; equal treatment; grade; refusal;
Judgment 1162
72nd Session, 1992
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 9
Extract:
The complainant wants the Tribunal to order her assignment to a stable post in line with her qualifications. "The Tribunal is satisfied [...] that the organization has made a serious effort to give the complainant a more stable position - indeed it has created the post especially for her - and has taken due account of her qualifications, experience and grade. Since she has therefore obtained satisfaction, she shows no cause of action".
Keywords:
assignment; organisation's duties; post; qualifications; request for transfer; transfer;
Judgment 1127
71st Session, 1991
European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 18
Extract:
"The purpose of probation is [...] to determine whether the official is capable of performing satisfactorily 'assignments of a kind and degree of difficulty' that correspond to those he was recruited for." The complainant has failed to show that "the assignments she may have been given were in a different area of work or were of greater complexity and difficulty than those she was appointed to perform".
Keywords:
assignment; difference; lack of evidence; post description; probationary period; purpose;
Judgment 1103
71st Session, 1991
European Patent Organisation
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
The complainant objects to her duties as de facto Head of the German Section being given to another reviser. There was no breach of her right to a hearing. "She had ample opportunity to put her case before the decision was confirmed and in the internal appeal proceedings. And considering the circumstances in which the decision was taken and its limited effect, the EPO was not bound to consult her beforehand anyway."
Keywords:
assignment; organisation's duties; right to reply;
Judgment 1018
69th Session, 1990
International Telecommunication Union
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
The complainant objects to being transferred and argues that his new work is only temporary and that his position is precarious. "The argument is unfounded. The complainant's transfer did not reduce his salary or change the nature of his employment. His new duties were classified at P.2. He was transferred not to a temporary post but with his own permanent post. When his new duties have been fully accomplished, he will still retain his permanent appointment and all the rights that go with it."
Keywords:
assignment; permanent appointment; post; short-term; transfer;
Judgment 977
66th Session, 1989
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 9(D)(V)
Extract:
"The Director-General ended the temporary appointment because he did not consider the complainant suitable for the post. [...] Nationality was an important criterion because the holder of the post must be able to travel to the [Occupied Arab] Territories without interference or difficulty. [...] The decision [...] was at the Director-General's discretion and the exercise of his discretion was proper."
Keywords:
assignment; criteria; discretion; nationality; qualifications;
Judgment 968
66th Session, 1989
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 8
Extract:
"The attribution of duties to a staff member, the nature of the duties to be carried out and the grading of posts are matters that the Director-General decides at discretion. The Tribunal will not interfere with such a decision unless it was taken without authority [etc]".
Keywords:
assignment; discretion; judicial review; limits; post classification; post description;
Judgment 939
65th Session, 1988
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 25
Extract:
The complainant, who has not held a headquarters post for the past thirteen years, alleges breach of Circular 180. The Tribunal holds that "the Circular does not [...] make an unqualified promise to bring back to Headquarters an official who has spent a substantial period in the field: all it promises is intensive effort to do so".
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: CIRCULAR 180 (SERIES 6) OF 22 MAY 1980
Keywords:
administrative instruction; assignment; field; headquarters; interpretation; request for transfer; right; transfer;
Judgment 844
63rd Session, 1987
International Atomic Energy Agency
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 23
Extract:
"In recruiting an employee who would be expected to acquire skills which were not necessarily an extension of skills he already possessed but required a different discipline altogether, the Agency should have made it quite clear to the applicant exactly what was involved so that he could judge whether or not he possessed the ability to acquire, retain and apply the new skills and knowledge."
Keywords:
assignment; difference; duty to inform; organisation's duties; post description;
Judgment 810
61st Session, 1987
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
"An executive has wide discretion in assigning staff in the organization's interest. But his authority is not absolute and the lawfulness of his decision is subject to review, albeit limited review because the Tribunal may not meddle in the actual running of the organization."
Keywords:
assignment; discretion; judicial review;
Judgment 809
61st Session, 1987
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 20
Extract:
"[The] posts and the grade they carried were such that the decision was tantamount to a sanction. An organisation is bound to show due regard to the dignity and good name of its staff".
Keywords:
assignment; downgrading; grade; hidden disciplinary measure; moral injury; organisation's duties; post; professional injury; respect for dignity; transfer;
Considerations 17 and 20
Extract:
The complainant "was made to take special leave at full pay. The material provision is [Unesco Staff] Rule 105.2(b): 'in exceptional circumstances staff members may be required to take special leave with pay, this measure being without prejudice to the rights of the staff member'. [...] The organization is not saying that no suitable post was vacant at the time the impugned decision was taken [...] nor does it maintain that it made the efforts it could have made to find a solution. All it does say is that the complainant never applied at the time for a single post. [...] On the broader issue, if the organization's intent was that the decision should be some sort of disciplinary sanction, then it would have perverted Rule 105.2(b)".
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: UNESCO STAFF RULE 105.2(B)
Keywords:
assignment; disciplinary measure; exception; hidden disciplinary measure; organisation's duties; special leave; staff member's duties; staff regulations and rules;
Consideration 17
Extract:
"Unless leave is granted at his own wish or he is on sick leave - which is just an incident of employment - a paid staff member is entitled to be given work to do that matches his grade."
Keywords:
annual leave; assignment; exception; grade; leave; refusal to assign work; right; salary; sick leave;
Consideration 16
Extract:
"The Director-General omitted to consult the Executive Board of Unesco before taking his decision, though Article 54 of the Board's Rules of procedure reads: 'The Director-General shall consult the members of the Executive Board with regard to the appointment or renewal of a contract of officials at D.1 and above whose posts come under the regular budget of the organization.'" The decision to appoint the complainant to an unclassified post is therefore tainted with a fatal flaw.
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ARTICLE 54 OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF UNESCO
Keywords:
appointment; assignment; breach; consultation; executive body; executive head; extension of contract; flaw; organisation's duties; professional category; written rule;
Consideration 20
Extract:
"The Director-General's authority is not absolute and quite plainly he failed in this case to pay due regard to the complainant's qualifications and experience in picking P.5 posts."
Keywords:
assignment; degree; discretion; disregard of essential fact; executive head; grade; limits; professional experience; qualifications;
Judgment 808
61st Session, 1987
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 22
Extract:
"The Director-General may assign the staff as the organisation's interests require provided he respects their grades and the grading structure."
Keywords:
assignment; discretion; limits; organisation's interest; transfer;
Judgment 631
54th Session, 1984
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 29
Extract:
"The Director-General took the impugned decision in the exercise of his discretion. This means that the Tribunal will not interfere with it merely because they think it to be wrong. They must be satisfied, to put it briefly, that it was not only wrong but wrongly motivated or based on an error of law or a complete misapprehension of the facts. Moreover, where [...] the interests of the organization form the sole criterion for the decision, the Tribunal will be reluctant to interfere since the Director-General must normally be regarded as the best judge of what those interests are."
Keywords:
assignment; discretion; judicial review; organisation's interest; transfer;
Consideration 27
Extract:
The Staff Rule on reduction in grade is applicable: it is not concerned with the personal grade of the staff member but with the grade of the post. "The Tribunal agrees that the decision was in substance a demotion. This follows almost automatically from the fact that it was a transfer from a P.6 to a P.5 post with lower responsibility. [...] To be diminished in responsibility and effectiveness can be just as hurtful as to be lowered in grade."
Keywords:
assignment; downgrading; grade; post; transfer;
Judgment 630
54th Session, 1984
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
All staff members should hold a post and perform the duties pertaining thereto. This "principle will not in practice have the effect of impairing the legitimate authority of the head of branch. Work requirements will determine how staff are to be assigned, and the result may be that a staff member has some of his duties taken away from him or is set to work that does not quite match his inclinations or even his talents. The supervisor is also entitled to propose that a staff member be moved [...] but so long as the staff member remains in a particular branch the head must see to it that he is given real work."
Keywords:
assignment; official; organisation's duties; organisation's interest; post; qualifications; refusal to assign work; request by a party; right; staff member's duties; supervisor; transfer;
Judgment 543
50th Session, 1983
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 2
Extract:
Following two previous judgments [Nos. 375 and 392], "the complainant [found herself] in the position of a person holding an appointment without a post. She was therefore entitled to demand to be assigned to a suitable post and put back on the payroll. This would not exclude a fresh assignment to Brasilia, the Tribunal having in Judgment No. 375 rejected the complainant's objections to that post. Whether or not the incumbent in Brasilia was there on a temporary basis, it was open to the Director to create a vacancy there and assign the complainant to it. However, the complainant did not take the initiative in this respect."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 375, 392
Keywords:
assignment; complainant; discretion; execution of judgment; judgment of the tribunal; refusal;
Consideration 5
Extract:
"There are [...] some well established limits to this obligation. Whatever the place of assignment, the post must be one as to which the duties of the post are set out in a post description, are within the capacity of the staff member and are not degrading. A staff member is not obliged to go to a place where she might have to run unacceptable risks of injury or ill health. in certain circumstances it may be the duty of the organization to consult with the staff member and take her views into account." Subject to limitations of this character, the matter falls under the Director's discretionary authority.
Keywords:
assignment; discretion; duty station; duty to inform; limits; post description; special hazard;
Consideration 9
Extract:
"There is an allegation of bad faith based on the fact that the organization did nothing to facilitate the complainant's return to it. The allegation fails. In view of the complainant's attitude the only way in which the organization could have facilitated her return would have been by conceding to her the right to veto the place of work assigned to her. to refuse to make such a concession is not bad faith."
Keywords:
assignment; execution of judgment; good faith; judgment of the tribunal; organisation; reinstatement;
Judgment 534
49th Session, 1982
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
The complainant alleges that there were several vacancies at the time of his transfer, but his contention is not borne out by the evidence. "Even supposing the Director-General could have found him some other assignment - though that is not established - the decision would have been made in the exercise of discretionary authority."
Keywords:
assignment; discretion; transfer;
Consideration 2
Extract:
Transfer, without change in his terms of employment to a new linguistic unit. "He will indeed never be a professional translator. Yet it was reasonable for the Director-General to expect him to be able to do worthwhile work in his new assignment. It was in the Director-General's discretion to make the transfer, and the decision was neither detrimental to the complainant's dignity nor in breach of his rights under the terms of his appointment."
Keywords:
assignment; discretion; organisation's duties; transfer;
Consideration 1
Extract:
"The head of an international organisation is responsible for the sound administration of its secretariat. For the purpose he is vested with executive authority to assign staff to different posts, with due regard to their particular qualifications, so as to maintain the highest possible standards of efficiency."
Keywords:
assignment; discretion; organisation's interest;
Judgment 526
49th Session, 1982
World Meteorological Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 1-2
Extract:
The claim inviting the Tribunal to order the Secretary-General to place the complainant in a post suited to her qualifications and experience does not fall with the scope of the Tribunal's competence.
Keywords:
assignment; competence of tribunal;
Judgment 488
48th Session, 1982
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
"On his last return to headquarters the complainant was not selected for any of the P.5 posts which were vacant at the time and in which he expressed interest. But the posts were filled in accordance with the normal selection procedure, the complainant's applications being considered together with the others, and the Tribunal holds that the procedure followed by the organization was correct and that there was no breach of any of the applicable rules."
Keywords:
appointment; assignment; headquarters; judicial review; procedure before the tribunal; transfer; vacancy;
