Judgment No. 462
Decision
THE COMPLAINT AND THE APPLICATIONS TO INTERVENE ARE DISMISSED.
Consideration 6
Extract:
The essential condition for continued payment of the allowance is continued proficiency. The method by which such proficiency is to be ascertained is not of the essence. The Director-General's changing the method does not constitute arbitrary deprivation of an acquired right.
Keywords
acquired right; amendment to the rules; knowledge of languages; allowance; condition
Consideration 5
Extract:
"According to the Tribunal's present case law, an acquired right is a right the grant of which was of decisive importance to the staff member when he accepted an appointment with the organisation. [...] But the notion of acquired rights should be developed to take account of situations analogous to those which gave rise to the doctrine." Staff members should not be arbitrarily deprived of the right to an allowance provided for in the Rules.
Keywords
acquired right; knowledge of languages; allowance; condition; definition
Consideration 5
Extract:
The possibility of obtaining a language allowance under certain conditions is not ordinarily a matter of decisive importance to a new recruit. It is therefore not an acquired right in the sense of the case law. A staff member may be said to acquire the right to the allowance under the terms of the rules in force at the time he earns it. Accordingly, the rules should not be changed so as to deprive officials of such a right arbitrarily.
Keywords
acquired right; staff regulations and rules; amendment to the rules; provision; knowledge of languages; allowance
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