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Judgment No. 3073

Decision

1. The Director-General's decision of 2 December 2009 is set aside.
2. The ILO shall ensure that the successful candidate is shielded from any injury that might result from the quashing of that decision.
3. It shall pay the complainant compensation in the amount of 2,000 Swiss francs for moral injury.
4. It shall also pay her 1,000 francs in costs.

Consideration 4

Extract:

"According to the case law, an international organisation which decides to hold a competition in order to fill a post cannot select a candidate who does not satisfy one of the required qualifications specified in the vacancy notice. Such conduct, which is tantamount to modifying the criteria for appointment to the post during the selection process, incurs the Tribunal's censure on two counts. Firstly, it violates the principle of patere legem quam ipse fecisti, which forbids the Administration to ignore the rules it has itself defined. In this respect, a modification of the applicable criteria during the selection procedure more generally undermines the requirements of mutual trust and fairness which international organisations have a duty to observe in their relations with their staff. Secondly, the appointment body's alteration, after the procedure had begun, of the qualifications which were initially required in order to obtain the post, introduces a serious flaw into the selection process with respect to the principle of equal opportunity among candidates. Irrespective of the reasons for such action, it inevitably erodes the safeguards of objectivity and transparency which must be provided in order to comply with this essential principle, breach of which vitiates any appointment based on a competition. (See Judgments 1158, 1646, 2584 and 2712.)"

Reference(s)

ILOAT Judgment(s): 1158, 1646, 2584, 2712

Keywords

grounds; equal treatment; equity; organisation's duties; patere legem; written rule; amendment to the rules; breach; appointment; competition; candidate; vacancy notice; working relations; flaw; condition; criteria; safeguard

Judgment keywords

Keywords

complaint allowed; decision quashed; competition; selection procedure



 
Last updated: 26.08.2020 ^ top